The 10th Quarter Quell: The 250th Hunger Games
by hungergamesluv4eva34
Summary: This year, the head Gamemaker has a new twist in store for new tributes! The 250th Hunger Games will certainly be one to remember! Who will come out alive, and who will die a second time? All will be revealed!
1. Chapter 1: The Twist

The 10th Quarter Quell

Head Gamemaker Futro Barnabash stands by the door, sipping his coffee. Was he ready to do this? Was he ready to announce the twist to this year's Hunger Games? Of course he was. This was his first year as head Gamemaker, so nothing could go wrong this year. A smile crept onto his face at the thought of all the children who would die this year.

A man approached him on the left. "Are you ready, Barnabash?" the man asked.

"I was born ready, President Menle," Barnabash replied.

"Good, good," President Menle replied. "It would be a shame if something went wrong this year. Are the scientists ready?"

"Yes, they are distributing the serums right now. The children should be waking up any minute now."

"Good, good," the president said in a mocking tone. A red light turned on above the door. "Oh, I'm up now. Best of luck to you, Barnabash."

The president stepped out and was immediately greeted by the applause of hundreds of adoring capital fans. He stepped across the stage and stood by the first podium. "Good evening," President Menle said as the applause died down. "Welcome everyone! Thank you for coming, and may the odd be ever in your favor. Now I'm sure you're all excited to find out this year's twist for the 10th Quarter Quell." The audience cheered. "Well, I can't tell you this classified imformation, but here's a person who can. Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for this year's head Gamemaker, Mr. Futro Barnabash!"

Barnabash stepped onto the stage, and stood behind a podium next to the president's. He waved to the crowd, and then got straight to buisiness. "Once again, good evening," he said, "And welcome to the revealing of the twist for the 10th Quarter Quell." The audience looked up at him with interested eyes. They had heard rumors that this would be the best Quarter Quell ever, so they were anxious to find out the twist. The head Gamemaker spoke again. "To show that people who deseve it get a second chance, this year, we are taking second place losers from previous Games and placing them back in the Games. In other words, reincarnation." The audience gasped. This would certainly be a Hunger Games to remember. Excited chatter broke out throughout the audience. "Alright settle down," Barnabash said. "I haven't finished explaining. We have reaped the tributes already, and the scientists are bringing them back to life as we speak. Just like every year, there will be both a boy and a girl from every district. The rest of the Games will happen like every year, besides the fact that there is no reaping for teens living in the districts, so district children get off lucky this year."

"Ladies and gentlemen, once again, put your hands together for head Gamemaker, Futro Barnabash!" shouted the president over the crowd. Barnabash stepped off the stage, and walked towards the room where the scientists were reincarnating the past tributes. "This will certainly be a Hunger Games to remember," he thought as he stepped into the door where the scientists were finishing up their work.


	2. Chapter 2: Tribute List

**Thanks for continuing on to chapter two. I guess chapter one didn't suck too bad. Here's just a list of tributes with ages and the Games they competed in for those who wonder (first the boy and then the girl). Oh and I forgot to mention in the last chapter that when the tributes come back to life, they remain the same age that they were when they died.**

Tribute List:

District 1:

Shadow Truly- 17 (244 HG)

Sunny Loffman- 14 (241 HG)

District 2:

Masher Lynch- 18 (200 HG)

Phenomena York- 17 (176 HG)

District 3:

Lyandel Hammond- 16 (206 HG)

Katie Joel-13 (196 HG)

District 4:

Jackie Chio- 18 (232 HG)

Mary Kay Hong- 16 (215 HG)

District 5:

Julian Dynamic- 17 (219 HG)

Carolina Miller- 15 (199 HG)

District 6:

Herbert Cosine- 18 (178 HG)

Sidney During- 17 (190 HG)

District 7:

Cyan Holliday- 16 (155 HG)

Mary Lay Sowell- 18 (249 HG)

District 8:

Ray Flash- 15 (177 HG)

Lauren Beverly 17 (237 HG)

District 9:

Marcabeth Sythyne- 17 (197 HG)

Flower Guiana-18 (222 HG)

District 10:

Larry Frost- 16 (245 HG)

Yvonne Starr- 18 (202 HG)

District 11:

Harris Framer- 18 (229 HG)

Erika Destiny- 17 (234 HG)

District 12:

Tyson Harper- 16 (224 HG)

Carlisle Feingold-18 (158 HG)

**Well, let's meet some tributes now! :-)**


	3. Chapter 3: Reawakened

**Okay, now we'll visit our tributes. Also, when I switch point of views, I'll write their district, age, and gender. For example, for Shadow Truly, I'll write this, "Shadow Truly (D1 M 17). Kk?**

**Lauren Beverley (D8 F 17)**

_ Clash chases me with a golden spear. I run through the woods, and trip over a tree root. Clash throws the spear and hits my side. I look down and see my bleeding stomach. "You're dead, six," he says, stamping his foot into my nose. The world twists away into a red and black blur._

I sit up and look at two scientists in white lab coats. What's happening? Did I win, or am I in heaven? One of the scientists notices that I'm awake. "The 8F's up!" he shouts. What is that some sort of secret code?

About 5 more scientists walk over to me. Only now do I realize that I'm sitting on what looks like a hospital bed, and a bunch of tubes are hooked up to about every inch of my body. "What's going on?" I ask. "Where am I?"

"You're in the Capitol, sweety," a middle-aged woman replies. "You're being reincarnated for the Games."

"Wait," I say. "Didn't Clash win? Why am I being brought back?"

"You're right," she says. "Clash did win, but I'm talking about the 250th Hunger Games. As part of the twist for the 10th Quarter Quell, we reincarnated a bunch of teens who got second place in previous Games, to go back and fight in the Games this year."

"I'm going back into the Hunger Games?" I ask faintly.

"Yeah," the woman replies.

Just then, a boy who's three beds down from me stirs. "D7M's coming to," one of the scientists says. The crowd of people around my bed move to the bed of the stirring boy, a young boy with blonde hair. Pretty soon, he's fully awake. He seemed more accepting of going back into the Games than I was. He actually looks kind of excited. Me, I will never be excited. I was happier in death.

**Phenomena York (D2 F 17)**

_I stand facing Lyslen, a sword in my hand. I see blood on his cheek; such beautiful blood. Soon I'll make him bleed more. He steps toward me, sword in hand as well. This will be a nice fair fight to the death. I don't care if it's fair or not, because I can beat him either way. The ferocity in his eyes tells me he thinks he'll win. Huh, he'll never win. He swings, but misses. I knock the sword out of his hands, and wrestle him to the ground. I sit on top of him. "You're dead, Lyslen," I say. Just then, a mutt attacks me from behind, knocking me off of Lyslen. "No! That's no fair!" I scream, as the mutt rips me apart, and Lyslen drives his arrow into me._

"No! No! No!" I scream.

"Calm down, it's okay."

"No! No! No!"

"Shoot her with some serum, Jerry."

I open my eyes to see hundreds of pretty fairies flying around me. There's also a man in a lab coat. "Get out of my way," I say with a giggle. "You're blocking the fairies."

"I think you gave her a little too much," I hear.

The scientist in front of me holds out a needle. It's such a pretty needle. He injects it into my arm. "Ooh, that tickles," I say.

All of a sudden, I feel less happy. "What happened?" I ask.

"We'll explain later."

**Jackie Chio (D4 M 18)**

_I know I am hopeless. My weapons have been stolen and Clarissa has boatloads of them. I cannot hide forever. I would rather die fighting than die running. I walk out of the cave and into the meadow. Clarissa immediately spots me. She chucks a spear at me, and I duck, but it's too late. The spear penetrates my skull, and the world turns black._

I open my eyes and look around. Why am I still living? Is this what happens to everyone after they die. If so, it's not so bad. I stretch and yawn. Only then does a scientist realize I'm awake. "4M's awake," he says._  
_

"Excuse me, what did you just call me?" I ask.

"4M," he repeats. "Your District number and gender."

"Why do you care what my District number and gender are?" I ask. "I'm dead."

"No you're not," the man replies. You are very much alive, and the only reason I care about your District number and gender is because you will be competing in the 250th Hunger Games." He briefly explains to me what is happening.

Well this is wonderful, I think. Now I can prove that I am a true victor. If my weapons hadn't been stolen last time, I would definitely have won. I look around the room to scope out my competition. Only about half of the people are awake. Most people look about 16 or older, except for about two of them. That makes sense, since these are all second place tributes. I can't wait for these Games to start.

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

_Marty holds his machete out, and I do the same. I know I can beat him if I really want. However, I have to stick to the plan. I promised my dad that I would. I pretend not to notice Marty swinging the machete towards my left leg. "Geez, this hurts," I say when it hits. Marty puts me out of my misery quickly, by stabbing me in the heart._

I open my eyes. I know exactly where I am, thanks to the plan. I guess it worked. My dad was a Gamemaker six years ago. When I decided to volunteer for the Games, we made a plan. My dad knew that the head Gamemaker would be retiring the year before the 10th Quarter Quell, so he started impressing the other Gamemakers by giving them gifts and presents. That way, they would vote for him when it came time to pick a new Gamemaker. Then he would make the 10th Quarter Quell for second place tributes, and influence the voting so that I'd be entered into the Games. He also changed his last name so that no one would get suspicious. I purposely got second place in my Games so that I could compete this year.

I look around, and realize that there are only three tributes still not reawakened. "That's a sign of weakness, son," my dad will say when he finds out. "You can't show any weakness in the Games."

A scientist walks over to me. "Any questions about what's going on?" he asks. "Most tributes were bursting with questions when they woke up."

"Nope I'm good," I say. The scientist walks away with a confused look on his face. I guess that was a little dumb to say. I'll have to be more careful next time.

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

_I have to keep running. I have to keep running. I have to run to the water. If I don't run to the water, Thrasher will stab me with his sword. If Thrasher stabs me with his sword, I will die. If I die, Michelle will have to live in the community home. I'm the only family she has left. I jump into the water and swim towards the island. I'm glad to see that Thrasher can't swim. When I'm about halfway to the island, shark mutts start attacking my feet. They want me to swim back and fight Thrasher. However; I refuse to fight him. The shark mutts keep gnawing at my feet. Eventually, I am dragged under the water._

I open my eyes. Where the heck am I? I just died, didn't I. "Excuse me," I say to a passing woman in a lab coat, "but where am I, and what's going on?" She briefly explains that I was reaped for the 10th Quarter Quell as part of the twist. Well, I guess I'm kind of happy I'm going back into the Games. I've only been dead for eleven months, so Michelle is still six. I can still save her from growing up in the community home for her whole young life. Last year I did pretty well, so maybe this year is my year.

I look around at my surroundings. I am in a circular room with the twenty-three other tributes. There's only one tribute still sleeping. The scientist walks away to the other tribute, and leaves me with my thoughts.

**Futro Barnabash (Head Gamemaker)**

I walk into the lab where the scientists are busy. They'd better be done by now, or the president might blow a fuse. I am delighted to see twenty-three awake tributes, but I'm not delighted to see one still dead. I walk over to the boy's bed, where half a dozen scientists are gathered. "What's going on?" I ask. "Why isn't he awake?"

"It seems that a small portion of his brain is missing," a scientist replies. "We might not be able to reincarnate him."

"You have to!" I shout, outraged. "President Menle will kill us all if one of his tributes is dead."

Fear sparks in the scientist's eyes. "Okay, well since we need to get this done fast, we need to borrow part of another tribute's brain. I suggest we use his District partner's. It will work best since they're both from eleven. However, I have no idea what the side effects will be. We could paralyze, brainwash, or even permanently kill the pair of them."

The girl to the right of him looks up. "No, you can't just take part of my brain!" she shouts. "It's not my fault he has a demented brain!"

A scientist shoots her with a shot, and she falls into a deep sleep. The scientists quickly perform surgery on her, and transport part of her brain into the boy's head. They wake up just before the president comes in.


	4. Chapter 4: Chariot Rides

**You can skip this section if you want. It kind of just explains what the tributes are wearing and what they look like.**

**Chariot Rides:**

**President Menle**

I look out at the stage and then check my watch. It's time to start. Why haven't they started the chariots? Finally, the red light flicks on, signaling that we're on air, so I start the commentary.**  
**

"Welcome, all, to the chariots rides for the 250th Hunger Games, the 10th Quarter Quell. Our esteemed group of scientists have successfully reincarnated all the dead tributes. So here they are, the tributes of the 250 Hunger Games!" This remark brings applause from the audience, and then Head Gamemaker Futro Barnabash takes over.

"From District 1 we have Shadow Truly and Sunny Loffman. Shadow is a strong 17-year-old boy from the 244th Hunger Games who is dressed up nicely in a fancy capitol suit. Sunny, a beautiful 14 year old girl, competed in the 241st Hunger Games. She is dressed up in an elegant floor length dress covered in sequins."

"From District 2 we have Masher Lynch and Phenomena York. Masher is a handsome young 18-year-old from the 200th Hunger Games; the 8th Quarter Quell. Phenomena is a lovely 17-year-old who was in the 176th Hunger Games. The two of them are dressed in peacekeeper outfits; Masher in a peacekeeper suit and Phenomena in a sparkly peacekeeper dress. The two compliment each other nicely."

"From District 3 we have and Lyandel Hammond and Katie Joel. Lyandel is 17 years young who competed in the 206th Hunger Games. Katie is a young little tribute; only 13, from the 196th Hunger Games. Both look nice in body suits with flashing colored lights."

"From District 4 we have the powerful Jackie Chio and the lovely Mary Kay Hong. Jackie is an 18-year-old iron machine, and competed in the 232nd Hunger Games. He looks very handsome in a dark blue, low-cut, shirt with ruffles. Mary Kay is 16, and her claim to fame was in the 215th Hunger Games. She looks stunning in a flowing blue and green dress and a fishtail braid."

"From District 5 comes Julian Dynamic and Carolina Miller. Julian is an honorable, 17-year-old young man who scored second place in the 219th Hunger Games. His district partner, is the lovely Carolina Miller, a 15-year-old girl from the 199th Hunger Games. Both look amazing in shiny silver jumpsuits and twisty headdresses."

"From District 6 we have Herbert Cosine and Sidney During. Herbert is a short and stocky 18-year-old boy from the 178th Hunger Games. Sidney is a tall 17-year-old girl from the 190th Hunger Games. The two of them are dressed in white jumpsuits with train track printed over them."

"District 7 brings us tributes Cyan Holliday and Mary Lay Sowell. Cyan is a handsome 16-year-old boy who is from the 155th Hunger Games. His district partner, Mary Lay, should be a familiar face. This 18-year-old girl was brought back from last year's 249th Hunger Games. They have gone with the usual tree look, with brown jumpsuits, and green hair."

"From District 8 we have Ray Flash and Lauren Beverly. Ray is a small 15-year-old boy who competed in the 177 Hunger Games. He is dressed in a robe and tunic decorated in different squares of textiles. Lauren is a beautiful 17-year-old girl who was in the 237th Hunger Games. She is dressed in a strapless floor length dress in a similar style, with an elegant bun in her hair."

"From District 9, comes Marcabeth Sythyne and Flower Guiana. Marcabeth is a giant 17-year-old boy who is from the 197th Hunger Games. Flower, a very petite girl on the other hand, is an 18-year-old girl from the 222nd Hunger Games. The two are dressed in clothing with grain-like sequins."

"From District 10 we have Larry Frost and Yvonne Starr. Larry is a 16-year-old boy from the 245th Hunger Games; still not so long ago. He is dressed in a cow costume. Yvonne is a beautiful 18-year-old girl from the 202nd Hunger Games. She is dressed in a slightly more stunning horse costume."

"District 11 brings us tributes Harris Framer and Erika Destiny. Harris is a heavily built, 18-year-old boy from the 229th Hunger Games. Erika is a tall 17-year-old girl from the 234th Hunger Games. The pair of them are dressed in a suit and a dress decorated with colorful fruit."

"Last but not least, we have the District 12 tributes, Tyson Harper and Carlisle Feingold. Tyson is a beefy 16-year-old boy from the 224th Hunger Games. Carlisle is a gorgeous 18-year-old young lady from the 158th Hunger Games. The pair of them are dressed in black jumpsuits with sparkly black sequins on them."

**Well, there you go. That was probably really boring, but training sessions come next! :-)**


	5. Chapter 5: Training Day One

**Training: Day 1**

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

These people are pathetic. We're in the second hour of training, and none of them have even matched part of my skill; even Masher who was in the 8th Quarter Quell. I expected more from him. Sunny might have been better if she was older, taller, and stronger, but she's only a tiny 14-year-old. Phenomena is okay, but she's a bit crazy. Jackie is kind of good, but he lacks survival skills. Mary Kay isn't very accurate with a weapon. However, as a group I think we'll do alright. Plus, I've got the Head Gamemaker on my side, so I can't lose.

Now, we're at the spear throwing station. We take turns throwing the spear ten times. I hit the bullseye nine out of ten times, Sunny hits it eight times, Masher hits it nine times (he kept getting lucky), Phenomena hits it eight times, Jackie hits it nine times (he kept getting lucky too), and Mary Kay hits it seven times. I actually think about convincing the rest of the group that we should get rid of Mary Kay, but I think that might turn Jackie against me, and he's good enough that I don't want him against me.

Next, we head over to the survival skills test on a computer. I personally don't think these stations matter, but most of my group thinks they do, so we head over. I get a 80% (not that this station even matters), Sunny gets a 90%, Masher gets a 88%, Phenomena gets a 94%, Jackie gets a 82%, and Mary Kay gets a 98%. I don't even care that I got last place out of our group. When it comes down to it, it's the fighting that matters.

Next, we head over to the rock climbing station. I quickly scale the station in five minutes and thirty-five seconds. Sunny climbs it the next fastest, in five minutes and forty-four seconds. Next comes Jackie with five minutes and fifty-two second. Masher comes next with six minutes and two seconds (it doesn't matter that I "accidentally" kicked him in the face a quarter of the way up and knocked him down, right?). Phenomena comes in fifth with a time of six minutes and eleven seconds, and Mary Kay comes in last with a time of six minutes and thirty-one seconds; pathetic. I run over to the score table where a Gamemaker is keeping track of today's fastest scores. All six careers are on top, and the next closest time so far is six minutes and thirty seconds. That's awesome. We might actually be a good career squad this year. Not that it matters to me, because I'll win either way.

**Masher Lynch (D2 M 18)**

Shadow is an idiot, a stuck up, a hot head, and has already crowned himself victor of the Games inside is head. I don't know why he thinks he's so much better than everyone else. Yes, he did beat us in rock climbing, but only because he "accidentally" kicked me down. After all, me and Jackie tied him in spear throwing, and everyone creamed him in the survival skills test.

I think Jackie's also annoyed with the knucklehead, so I corner him when Shadow checks the rock climbing scores. "Hey Jackie," I say. "Is Shadow annoying you too?"

"Heck, yeah," he replies. "He's such an idiot. He thinks all the tributes are just going to hand him the crown."

"I know, right?" I say. "So do you want to do something about it?"

"Oh yes," he says, a devious grin spreading across his face. "So what's the plan?"

"Well, I don't have one yet, but when we get into the arena, can I count on you to help me get rid of Shadow?"

"Definitely," he replies, and we shake hands and walk back over to the rest of the group.

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

I don't know why Larry and I decided to team up with the District 11 tributes. The two of them lost their memories while they were reincarnated, so they're utterly worthless to have as our allies. Larry has a soft spot for those kinds of things, and I agreed early on that I would be his ally, so I guess I'm kind of stuck with them. There's no way I can win the Games with a group of misfits like this. However, I'd rather have brainwashed allies than no allies, so oh well.

Now, Larry's teaching them how to throw a spear. Harris throws first, but he misses the target by a long shot, nearly hitting the District 5 boy. Erika's throw isn't much better, but at least she didn't come close to murdering a tribute before the Games even start. Larry decides that they might be better at something else, so we head over to the rock climbing station. Harris, isn't too bad, but Erika just can't grasp the concept, so we move on to something else.

We head on over to the sword fighting station and all pick up a mechanical dummy, which have been programmed by scientists to fight, but not kill us in training. Now this is something that comes to Erika very easily. Yes, her dummy is set to level two fighting, while mine is set to level six, but at least we know now that Erika isn't completely worthless. She beats the level two dummy over and over, so I let her borrow my level six one. Within ten seconds, the dummy knocks Erika's sword to the ground. Well, at least she's better than Harris, who didn't even make it past level one.

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

As I climb the rock climbing course, my mind is only focusing at the job at hand, beating today's record for the fastest time. The board said that the best time was five minutes and thirty-four seconds, so I need to climb this in that time. This will teach the tributes not to count out the petite thirteen year old girl from District 3. Just because I'm from District 3, people assume that I am smart, inquisitive, brainy, and a geek. However, this is not the case. I have always loved nature; the plants, the animals, and the beauty. The only time I actually pay attention in science class is when we learn about Earth science. In every other course, I maintain a solid B average.

I notice my mind drifting off topic again, so I wipe some sweat off of my forehead, and keep climbing. I look down and notice I'm about halfway up. I check my stopwatch and see that my time is two minutes and eleven seconds. If I keep this pace, I'll definitely beat the record. My muscles start to cramp and I start to feel a bit dizzy, but I have to keep going. Finally, I reach the top and stop the stopwatch. My time is five minutes thirty-four seconds. I have tied the record. Well, I might not have beaten it, but at least I still tie for first place. I slowly climb down, and walk over to the cooler full of water bottles. I take one, and drink half of it, and pour the other half on my head. Ahhhh! That feels better.

My eyes wander around, looking for something to do. They stop on the survival skills test. Perfect; I stink at survival skills, so this will be a great way to get better. The first time I take the test, I score a 76%. That's sad. I take it again and get a 84%. Not until my seventh try do I score a 100%. I decide to work more on my survival skills by walking over to the actual survival skills lessons. While there, I learn how to start and build a fire and how to make a few nifty knots. I suppose that's enough survival training for the day, so I head over to some of the weapon stations.

**Marcabeth Sythyne (D9 M 17)**

Julian and I head over to the pool. This is something I've never seen in the training room, from all my years of watching the Games. Maybe this means that we're going to need to know how to swim in the arena. Who knows? We change into swimsuits and climb down the ladder into the pool. It's only six feet deep at its deepest spot, and it's only thirty feet long, but it's bigger than any pool I've seen in District 9. I push off of the ladder when the water's up to about my waist, and walk towards the center of the shallow end where a young man is about to start a lesson on how to swim. I have no idea how to swim, and neither does Julian, so I'm happy they have these lessons just in case. We join three other tributes in the pool for the lessons; the boy from seven, the girl from seven, and the boy from twelve.

Just then, the man starts the lesson. First we learn how to tread water. The trainer says this can keep us alive in water for up to half an hour if we have good endurance. Next, we learn to float on our backs. The trainer says that this can help us stay alive for a while too, so I pay lots of attention. Once we have all mastered that skill, we learn a type of swimming that the man calls "freestyle". We all kick our legs and rotate our arms in and out of the water. I'm surprised at how fast we're picking all this up. We've only been in the water for two hours, and I can already swim kind of well.

Now, the trainer tells us he thinks we're all ready for the deep end of the pool. Yes, it's only six feet deep, but I'm still kind of scared. What if I get a cramp? What if I faint and drown in the water? What if I panic and doggy paddle back to the shallow end? Well, it's now or never to learn how to swim well. We swim through the pool towards the deep end using freestyle. I know when I pass the edge of the shallow end, because fear builds inside of me when I look down through the water. However, I banish that fear from my mind and keep swimming. I notice Julian swimming right up next to me. He seems more relaxed than I do. When we reach the middle of the deep end, our instructor tells us to stop, so we all tread water in a big circle. We tread water for a while, almost five minutes, while frightened thoughts cross through my mind. I'm starting to get really tired, and if I don't get out of here soon, I might drown. I breathe a sigh of relief as we all swim over to the ladder. I hope this three-hour session was worth it.

**Okay, here's a list of the allies so far: **

**Shadow/Sunny/Masher/Phenomena/Jackie/Mary Kay**

**Larry/Yvonne/Harris/Erika**

**Katie**

**Marcabeth/Julian**


	6. Chapter 6: Training Day Two

**Day Two of Training:**

**Lyandel Hammond (D3 M 16)**

I wake up and notice the sun piercing through the window shades. I slide up the shades to find the monstrosity that is present day Panem. How can they still be doing this, forcing innocent children to fight to the death for their enjoyment? Something must be wrong in the Capitol people's heads. The Hunger Games is very illogical, and should stop soon.

I gaze over at my clock and notice that it's 9:27. Crap! I should have been there half an hour ago. Why didn't anyone wake me up? I mean there are tons of people who could have, an avox, my mentor, or even Katie. I dress at top speed, throw some leftover toast into my mouth, and sprint downstairs to the training room. I step in, hoping to be unnoticed, but everyone looks in my direction when I step through the door. "Lyandel Hammond," the head Gamemaker says in a loud booming voice. "You are exactly forty-two minutes late. Explain yourself."

I gulp. How am I supposed to tell him no one woke me up. "Well, you see sir," I say, "I kind of overslept a bit, and..."

"You overslept?" the man asks in a disgusted voice. Now, all the tributes have stopped what they're doing to watch this conversation between me and the head Gamemaker. He continues yelling at me. "What am I your school teacher? Did wittle baby Lyandel oversleep and come wate to scwool?" He says this, his mouth dripping with sarcasm. I just stand still, not responding. "I hate to break it to you, but this is the Hunger Games, and this time, nobody's getting a second chance. So show up on time, or I will make sure your death is a lovely one for the audience." He puts a sarcastic little grin on his face, and the dead silent room dissolves into chatter. I look over at the careers and notice that they're laughing and pointing in my direction. That can't be good.

Well, I guess this means I ably won't get any allies. I didn't really want a big group of allies, but one or two would have been fine. Now that I'll be known as 'the wittle boy who showed up late for training', and I doubt anyone wants to be known as 'the wittle boy who showed up late for training's ally'. This is just great. I head over to the spear throwing station, and chuck some spears at the dummies. I am so flustered, that only one out of five of my spears hits the dummy. I decide I need to relax and calm down, and decide a swimming lesson would be a nice remedy for this situation. I grab a swimsuit, hop into the pool, and hope this swimming lesson is worth it.

**Herbert Cosine (D6 M 18)**

Some nerd has just hopped into the pool. Sidney smirks at me, and I realize it's because that's the kid who got screamed at by the head Gamemaker for being late. It's a shame, because I had hoped that Sidney and I would get a private lesson, but now we have to share the pool with some wimpy kid from 3. The trainer finally steps into the pool. It's about time. The sheet said that a lesson would be given at 10:00, but it's 10:04 according to the big clock above the Gamemakers' lounge area. These capitol people are so unreliable.

I find myself wondering why I teamed up with Sidney. She isn't the brightest crayon in the box, but she's probably the prettiest. I guess her long, chocolate-brown hair, and her beautiful curves have hypnotized me into allying her. It's kind of awkward that she's about three or four inches taller than me, but I guess I can live with that.

I am snapped out of my daydreams by Sidney when she taps me on the shoulder. "Hey," she whispers, "you okay? You look like you're in a different district. Have you been listening at all to what that guy's been saying? This stuff could save our lives."

"Yeah, I guess so," I say. "I'll try to listen now." I pay attention to the trainer for a good minute or two, but I think I'm allergic to listening and learning. I guess my on average, C+ grades kind of showed that, but the words just roll over me, and in another minute I'm on another planet again with Sidney.

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

Why did I team up with this idiot? I want someone who can watch my back, not escape to La La Land every five seconds. "Hey," I bark at him again. "Pay attention, you don't want to drown in the arena, do you?"

"Oh they barely have an arena that you need to know how to swim at. In all the years that I've watched the Games, there's only been one time when the tributes had to know how to swim."

I start to explain to him that the Gamemakers wouldn't have included a pool if we needed to know how to swim, but I decide against it. Maybe he'll drown. That would be great. I'm kind of afraid of telling him I don't to be allies, but if I do that, he'll probably kill me in the arena. I just stay silent and try to pay attention to the instructor, while Herbert daydreams again.

Two hours later, after the swimming lesson, we start to walk over to the survival skills test. Herbert just thinks we're wasting our time, and we should be doing something more useful, like spear throwing or sword fighting. "No I say, we're working on survival skills, and if you've got a problem with that, then leave."

"Fine," he says. "Maybe I will." And he turns on his heel and walks over to the spear throwing station, and starts talking to the blonde boy from three, the one who was late. Well, two can play at that game.

I look around the arena, and spot a big alliance of four girls at the survival skills test. That looks like my kind of alliance. It's a little big, but I want a smart alliance rather than an alliance who focuses on weapons. I walk over to them. "Hey," I say. "You guys want another ally? I'm smart, and good at swimming, and survival skills."

"All right," says a tall brunette, about my height. She must be the leader of the group. "You're in, but any funny business and you're out." The girl who I think is from twelve turns back to the screen and continues the test. The score 94% shows up on the screen. She turns to me. "Get my score or higher, and you're in, no question. Get a score in the nineties, and you're in, but I'm watching you closely. Get less than a ninety, and you're out, because that obviously means you were lying." She steps away from the screen and I step up. All four girls are watching me closely. I know I can do this. I wasn't lying at being good at survival skills.

**Carlisle Feingold (D12 F 18)**

I watch the girl's fingers fly across the screen. It's amazing how much we look like each other. We both are tall with brown hair, brown eyes, and freckles. I'm a little more muscular than her, though. She's just about as skinny as a twig. She seems like she is very skilled with survival skills. She might even beat my score.

Finally, after a minute or two, her score flashes up on the screen; a 96%. Wow, pretty good. "Nice job," I say. "That's the best score out of any of us." Carolina blushes and looks at the ground and I know why. She only got an 86% on the test, but she's in the group for her strength, not her smarts. The rest of us have enough smarts to make up for her. Lauren got a 90%, and Flower got a 92%. I guess that means we're a pretty smart group.

"Thanks, she says. My name's Sidney, District 6. What are all of your names?"

"I'm Carlsile, District 12," I say.

"Carolina, District 5," Carolina, a young, redhead, says.

"Flower, District 9," the blonde and tiny 18-year-old says.

"Lauren, District 8," the gorgeous brunette says.

"Nice to meet you all," Sidney says. "What do you guys want to work on now?"

**Ray Flash (D8 M 15)**

I head over to the spear throwing station. I've already mastered the survival skills test (well, got an 88% at least) and the fire building station, and now I'm ready to work on something that will actually help me win the Games. Most people say that survival skills are most important, but I think it's the weapons. The final two, more often than not, comes down to hand to hand combat. I won't lose the same way again this year.

There's not a lot of weapons stations this year. I hit the sword training session and the knife throwing session yesterday, and today I plan to hit the bow and arrow session after I'm done throwing some spears. Well, as long as I'm good with a few weapons, it won't matter much what weapon I get in the bloodbath.

I throw about twenty spears at a target. Sixteen of them hit it. I guess that's not bad, eighty percent. It's good, at least, for a fifteen year old boy. There's a good chance of me killing one of my fellow tributes with a spear. I thinks this means that spears are my best weapons. I shot seventy-five percent with the knives, and I only made it up to level eight out of fifteen on the sword fighting with the dummy. I spotted one of the careers working on level fourteen. I think it was that boy from two.

I head over to the bow and arrow station and shoot some arrows. It takes about twenty minutes for the trainer to explain to me how to shoot the arrows. Even after all the instruction, I only shoot sixty percent. Great, I wasted an hour of my time on this station. I meander around, looking for something else to do.

**Cyan Holliday (D7 M 16)**

Mary Lay and Tyson shoot bow and arrows as I watch them. I have never had any skill at shooting arrows, so I decide not to waste my energy to try. Weapons aren't my thing. It's a good thing Mary Lay and Tyson aren't bad with weapons, or I'd be screwed. It's also good for them that I'm so good with survival skills, or they'd be in trouble. This is what makes us a good alliance; we balance out each other's weaknesses.

I start wondering about my family. I competed in the Games ninety-five years ago. My mom and dad have to be dead, my brother and sister are probably dead too, my nieces and nephews are old and crippled, if not, dead, and so on and so forth. I'm probably the same age as my great great great nieces and nephews, or something like that. It would be neat to see what life is like now in District 7, but my life would be so different. Thanks to this nearly one hundred year lapse in time, I would probably be treated like an outsider, like someone who belongs in a different century; well I guess I do

Mary Lay and Tyson have finished up with their bow and arrow training. "Hey Cyan," Tyson says, "Do you want to go over and work on that edible plants station. We haven't hit that station yet."

I can tell they are just trying to include me and make me happy. "Sure," I say. "That seems like a useful station."

We walk over, and the instructor at that station starts teaching us about frotoberries, and nightlock, and trysmine, and all kinds of poisonous plants and berries that we shouldn't eat. I make sure to pay attention, because usually at least one tribute dies every year from a poisonous plant. I can tell Mary Lay and Tyson are getting bored. They aren't into this kind of thing. I lean over to them. "Hey," I say. "You guys can go work on another station if you want. It doesn't make sense for all of us to learn this."

"Okay," says Mary Lay, and the two of them walk over to the rock climbing station. This leaves just me and a young girl who I think is from District 3. The instructor doesn't seem to notice that the group has been cut down in half. He just keeps rambling on.

**Phenomena York (D2 F 17)**

"Hey," I say to Shadow. "Can we go take a swimming lesson in the pool? I don't know how to swim."

Shadow snorts. "You don't know how to swim? What career doesn't know how to swim?"

"Me," I say. "So can we go take a lesson?"

Shadow laughs. "Of course not. We're not spending our last two hours of training by frolicking around in the pool, when the other five of us already know how to swim. If you want to, go ahead, but I might not welcome you back very warmly."

I think this over for a little bit. The arena doesn't usually require the tributes to know how to swim. And besides, if I'm not part of the careers, I won't be able to rip lots of tributes apart limb by limb. I'd much rather do that than learn how to swim. "Okay," I say. "I don't care that much about swimming. I'm coming with you guys."

"Wonderful," says Shadow. "I think we have time for one more station." He looks around and scans the room. "Let's go over to the bow and arrow station."

I don't know how I feel about Shadow. He is a well-trained tribute. He's very strong, and he's good with weapons. However, he isn't very smart. I don't think he could tell apart nightlock from blueberries, even with a microscope. He's kind of cocky and competitive, but everyone knows a good career is always cocky and competitive.

We listen to a brief description of how to shoot a bow and arrow. The instructor isn't very detailed on his description, but I can tell that that's probably because he figures that us careers already know how to shoot the arrows. Well, he's right. After the five-minute lesson, we shoot twenty arrows each. I hit the target sixteen times, Shadow hits it seventeen times, Masher hits it eighteen times, Sunny hits it seventeen times, Jackie hits it fourteen times (it must not be his strong weapon), and Mary Kay hits it seventeen times.

**Here's a final ally list for training:**

**Shadow/Sunny/Masher/Phenomena/Jackie/Mary Kay**

**Carolina/Sidney/Lauren/Flower/Carlisle**

**Larry/Yvonne/Harris/Erika**

**Cyan/Mary Lay/Tyson**

**Julian/Marcabeth**

**Lyandel/Herbert**

**Katie**

**Ray**

**Next comes the private training sessions, and then interviews, and then the Games! :-)**


	7. Chapter 7: Personal Training Part One

**So here's the private training sessions for Districts 1-6 since they're kind of long. I'll include the tributes' scores right after their session so you don't have to flip back and forth. :-)**

**Private Training Sessions for Districts 1-6:**

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

A Gamemaker calls my name on the intercom. I stand up and walk towards the door to the training room. What should I show the Gamemakers? I mean, I'm so good at everything, I doubt it matters. And besides, dad will make sure I get a good score. This will be a breeze. It's just going to be like another training session.

I step into the double doors, and my father's voice booms around the room. "Shadow Truly, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I head over to the spear station, and chuck a few spears at the targets. Most of them hit the bullseye. Then I walk over to the sword fighting station and beat the level twelve dummy. The buzzer rings, and my dad says, "Thank you, Shadow. You may leave."

I sit on the couch with Sunny, our mentors, and our stylists. Mellabe Archimedes (the host of the personal interviews) comes on the air. "Welcome, and thank you for watching the training scores of the 250th Hunger Games. Let's read the scores. District 1; Shadow Truly with a score of eleven." An eleven? I'm outraged! I should have gotten a twelve! Why didn't Dad make the Gamemakers give me a twelve? Maybe they wouldn't listen to him. I'll have to talk to him about it after I win the Games.

**Sunny Loffman (D1 F 14)**

"Sunny Loffman, please report to the training room for your private training session," the Gamemaker's voice calls over the intercom. I'm nervous. I still don't know what to do. I guess I'll sword fight the dummy. I was able to beat level thirteen, so I'll set it to level fourteen to impress the Gamemakers. Last time I shot a bow and arrow, but I've been working a lot with sword fighting, so I think I'll do that.

"Sunny Loffman, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I walk over to the sword fighting station. I set the dummy to level thirteen. "I'm setting it to level thirteen," I say, so that the Gamemakers know what I'm doing. The dummy springs to life, and picks up a sword as I do as well. We swing at each other for a while. The dummy is good, but it has a blind spot. The sword skims my ear once, making it bleed slightly. However, I hit it in its blind spot, and it falls to the ground. I hit it a few more times to make sure that it is done, and eventually, the dummy stops moving and "dies" just as the buzzer rings and I'm told to leave.

Mellabe has just announced Shadow's score; an eleven. Wow, I'll have to ask him later how he got that. Now, Mellabe will announce my score. "Sunny Loffman with a score of ten. Wow, a ten! That's a point more than I got nine years ago!

**Masher Lynch (D2 M 18)**

"Masher Lynch, please report to the training room for your private training session." I walk in, and the same voice, in the form of the Head Gamemaker says, "Masher Lynch, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I walk over to the spear throwing station. I shoot about ninety-five percent for spears, so this should work out well. I shoot ten for ten, and then decide not to push my luck any further. Instead, I head over to the sword fighting station, and beat the level fourteen dummy in a matter of three minutes. However, I turn my back on the dummy for a second because it has collapsed, but it turns out the dummy was just playing dead. He hits me in the back with the sword. Despite the pain in my back and bring down the dummy for good. The Gamemakers applaud a bit as the buzzer rings and I walk out of the training room.

Wow, I wonder how Shadow got an eleven. I didn't think he was that good. I think Sunny's ten was what she deserved, though. I don't think Shadow realizes how good she is. Now Mellabe will announce my score. "District 2; Masher Lynch with a score of eleven." I think that's what I deserved. I was phenomenal with the spear and sword fighting, and they probably deducted the point because the dummy hurt me. This is the same score I got fifty years ago.

**Phenomena York (D2 F 17)**

I sweep my blonde hair out of my face, and walk into the training room. "Phenomena York," the head Gamemaker says, "You have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I haven't really given any thought to what I'm going to do. I guess I'll just throw some weapons around. I head over to the spear throwing section and throw ten spears. Nine of them hit the target. I imagine them piercing into a tribute's body, and a smile crosses my face. Next I walk over to the bow and arrow station. I launch some arrows at the target, and thirteen out of fifteen hit the target. Well, I'm glad I improved at both of these stations. The buzzer rings and I walk out, wondering if I did enough to scrape a ten.

I'm pretty proud of my allies' scores so far. I hope I'm not the one to break the double digit streak. "Phenomena York, with a score of ten." Yay, I got a ten! That's not bad at all.

**Lyandel Hammond (D3 M 16)**

I walk into the training room, and am greeted by the head Gamemaker's booming voice. "Ahh, Lyandel Hammond," he says. "I'm glad to see that you're not late today." The Gamemakers chuckle at this, and I feel my cheeks turning red. "Well, you have five minutes to show us your stuff. Your time starts now."

I push my big glasses up my nose and walk over to the trap making station. I make a simple snare in record time, and then head over to the knot tying station, which is right next to the trap making station. I spend the rest of the time tying some complicated knots. The buzzer rings, and the head Gamemaker says, "Your time is up Lyandel. Don't leave late, or we might have to give you a one for leaving late." The room explodes into laughter, and I leave, my cheeks as red as a ripe tomato.

I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm doomed. This runs through my head as the scores are read. Finally it's my turn. "District 3; Lyandel Hammond with a score of five. Well, I didn't expect anything better.

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

I walk into the training room. I don't know what I should do. I could climb the rock climbing course, but I think we only get five minutes, and my time was five minutes and thirty-four seconds. "Katie Joel, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

There's no time to think. I sprint to the rock climbing station and start climbing up. I can do this. I just have to believe. My hands grasp the ledges and pull me up. I need to complete the course in about four minutes and forty seconds. When I'm almost at the top it hits me; I need to climb down within five minutes to. I look over at the clock. Four and a half minutes have passed. I pull myself up the last ledge. I have made it; now I need to figure out a way to get down.

I scan the area around me to try to find something that can get me down in twenty seconds. I spot the pool, and realize the pool is only about three feet away from the edge of the cliff. This is the only way. I step back as far as I can towards the wall, take a few quick steps, and jump. Only now do I remember that the pool's only six feet deep. Whoops. I curl into a ball as I fall down, down, down. I splash into the water and my feet hit the pool bottom hard. I swim back up to the face and step out of the water, and am greeted with applause. The buzzer goes off. I try to hide the stabbing pain in my feet as I walk towards the exit. As soon as I'm out of the training room, I limp over to where I know the medical room is.

I watch Mellabe announce the scores. I wonder what I got. Hopefully, I got a ten. Last time, I got an eight, but I think I did a lot better this year. "Katie Joel with a score of eleven." Wow! I did much better than I expected. I guess hurting my feet was worth it. The doctors fixed me up in ten minutes. I don't think anyone will underestimate me this year!

**Jackie Chio (D4 M 18)**

"Jackie Chio, please report to the training room for your private training session." I walk in and am greeted by the head Gamemaker. "Jackie Chio, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I walk over to the spear throwing station and chuck some spears around. I'm so nervous, so I only hit eight out of ten, which means my scores haven't improved since when we threw the spears two days ago. I tell myself to relax, and then throw some throwing knives at dummies. I hit nine out of ten; much better. The buzzer rings and I am ushered out. I hope I got a good score.

I sit in the chair, tapping my fingers on the arm rest. I'm so nervous. Finally, Mellabe announces my name. "District 4; Jackie Chio with a score of ten." Oh, wow. I thought I would get a nine. That's what I got last time. However, this is a new Hunger Games and a new Jackie.

**Mary Kay Hong (D4 F 16)**

What should I do? Everyone knows I'm the weakest career. How can I prove that I have skill? My name is announced and I walk in. They tell me to start, and the only things I'm good at are swimming, gymnastics, knife throwing, and survival skills. What can I do to blow them away?

All of a sudden, my mind hatches a plan. I head over to the knife throwing station, and pick up two knives. Then, I walk over to the pool. I place the knives in my left hand. I step back and do a one-handed cartwheel into the water. As I flip over the water, I throw the knives up into the air. I land with a splash in the water, and I wait under the water for the knives to fall into the pool. When they do, I grab them, push off of the pool bottom as hard as I can, and throw the knives at the nearest target. I fall back under the water, and then return to the surface. I am delighted to see that both knives have hit the target. I still have two minutes left, so I throw some knives around a bit and then leave when the buzzer goes off.

I sit on the couch, nervous to see my score. I wonder what the Gamemakers thought of my routine. I don't seem as nervous as Jackie seems though. He's drumming his fingers on the arm rest at top speed. When Mellabe announces Jackie's score, I'm not surprised to see a ten. Now it's my turn. I hope I don't break the career streak of getting a ten or eleven. "Mary Kay Hong with a score of eleven." Wow an eleven! I didn't expect that. There's some good tributes this year. I'm the fourth eleven given out this year. I suppose that's because everyone here is a previous second place tribute.

**Julian Dynamic (D5 M 17)**

"Julian Dynamic, please report to the training room for your private training session." I walk in, very unsure of what to do. I'm not that good with weapons. I've been working mostly on survival training and stuff like that. "Julian Dynamic, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I decide take the edible plants challenge. It's not something that's going to get me a five, but it will get me more than a two. I walk over to the station and sort out the twenty berries into two piles; edible and poisonous. Then, to prove my confidence, I stuff all ten edible berries into my mouth and eat them. I hope I didn't confuse any of them. I swallow, and am glad to see that I'm still alive. The Gamemakers stare and me, and decide about twenty seconds later that I ate all the right berries. The buzzer rings and I walk out.

I sit on the couch, wondering what score I got. My guess is I probably got a six. They only hand the good scores out to people who are good with weapons. "District 5; Julian Dynamic with a score of eight." I guess they were amazed that I ate the berries without checking the answers with the handbook on that table. Well, I'm proud of that bravery.

**Carolina Miller (D5 F 15)**

I walk in the training room. I'm ready to show the Gamemakers that I'm a strong fifteen year old girl. "Carolina Miller, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I head over to the weight lifting station and pick up a fifty pound round weight with a handle. I swing it back and forth, back and forth, until I have enough momentum. I throw it nine feet away. I pick up another one, and throw this one ten feet. Then I head over to the spear throwing station. Seven out of ten hit the target, which is good for me. The buzzer rings. "Thank you Carolina. You may leave."

I'm so nervous. I hope I got a good score. I'm surprised to see that Julian got an eight. I didn't think he was good at much. "Carolina Miller, with a score of eight." Wow, I did pretty well.

**Herbert Cosine (D6 M 18)**

I walk in and scan the training room. I know exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to throw some spears, and if that doesn't work, I'll have a sword fight with a dummy. "Herbert Cosine, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I walk over and grab some spears. I throw one after another at the target. Out of the first ten I throw, eight hit the target. I decide I'm on a roll and throw ten more. Only six of these spears hit the target. The buzzer rings, signaling that my time is up. "Herbert Cosine, you may leave." I guess I probably should have fought a dummy after the first ten spears. I kind of pushed my luck by throwing another ten. I also think the Gamemakers like to see a variety of skills, not just basic spear throwing. I guess I wasn't thinking straight.

I wonder what score I got. I didn't really do anything wrong, yet I didn't do anything amazing to blow them out of their seats. "District 6; Herbert Cosine with a score of seven." Well, I guess that's about what I expected. Darn it. At least I don't have the worst score of the night so far.

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

"Sidney During, please report to the training room for your private training session." I push open the double doors and walk into the training room. I kind of know what I'm going to do. I'm going to show the Gamemakers my smarts. "Sidney During, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I walk over to the fire building section and quickly start a fire with some flint and kindling. I blow it out and then head over to the edible and inedible plants station. I quickly sort out the plants and check my score, 100%. Then I walk over and make a snare at the trap making section. Then my buzzer goes off, and I am done."

I am very curious to find out my score. My guess is it's about a five. I showed the Gamemakers a variety, but I didn't show them much. All three of those skills could be mastered by almost anyone in two days. Finally, my picture flashes up on the television screen. "Sidney During, with a score of six." Well, it's better than I expected, but it's still a kind of bad score, especially for a second time tribute.

**Okay, one more chapter of private training sessions comes next, and after that comes the interviews. :-)**


	8. Chapter 8: Personal Training Part Two

**Okay, here's the rest of the private training sessions.  
**

**Training Sessions for Districts 7-12:**

**Cyan Holliday (D7 M 16)**

"Cyan Holliday, please report to the training room for your private training session." I walk in, still thinking of what I'm going to do. "Cyan Holliday, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I walk over to the poisonous plant station, and quickly sort out the poisonous berries from the edible ones. I check my work, and realize I got all the plants into the right categories. I suppose that's good. Then I head over to the knot tying station and tie some knots. Finally my buzzer rings. "Thank you, Cyan. You may leave."

I sit on the couch, awaiting my score. The scores so far have been so good. Finally, it's time for District 7's scores. "District 7; Cyan Holliday with a score of five." Well, five's an okay score I guess.

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

"Mary Lay Sowell, please report to the training room for your private training session." I walk in, pretty sure of what I'm going to do. I have to get a good score. If I get a good score, I will get sponsors. If I get sponsors, I will get sponsor gifts. If I get sponsor gifts, I have a better chance of surviving in the arena. If I survive in the arena, I will get to go home. If I go home, I will get Michelle out of the community home. The head Gamemaker speaks, knocking me out of my daydreaming. "Mary Lay Sowell, you have five minutes to impress us. your time starts now."

I walk over to the knife throwing station, and throw some knives at the target. Seven out of ten of the knives hit the target; not bad for me. Then I head over to the bow and arrow station. Eight out of ten arrows hit the target, which is again, not bad for me. The buzzer rings, so my time is up. I think I did pretty well. I'll just have to wait for my score to see.

It seems like Mellabe is taking forever this year to say the scores. I guess I'm just so anxious to see my score. Cyan got a five, ouch. I hope mine is better. "Mary Lay Sowell with a score of seven." Well, I guess seven's not that bad. It's not a career score, but it's not a wimpy score. However, I'm a bit disappointed, because I got an eight last year. Oh well. I guess I just have to keep moving on.

**Ray Flash (D8 M 15)**

"Ray Flash, please report to the training room for your private training session." I walk in, through the double doors. I'm pretty confident in what I'm going to do. I'm going to throw some spears, and then some throwing knives. "Ray Flash, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I walk over to the spear throwing station, grab a few spears, and get to work. I throw the spears, one after another, like a machine gun firing at an enemy. I look up to see that four out of the five hit the target. I grab them, and thow them again. This time, only three stick, so I decide I'm done at this station, and head over to throw some knives. I grasp a bunch in my hand, and throw them again like a machine gun. Three out of the five hit. I retrieve them, and throw them again, scoring another three out of five. The buzzer rings, and my time is up. I'd be surprised if I didn't score at least an eight.

I sit on the couch with Lauren, our stylists, and our mentors. I can't wait to get my score. This might get me some support from sponsors. Finally, Mellabe announces District 8. "Ray Flash with a score of five." Five? I'm outraged! I deserved at least a seven! Those Gamemakers must have been really drunk to give me a five!

**Lauren Beverly (D8 F 17)**

"Lauren Beverly, please report to the training room for your private training session." I walk in the training room, aware of the around ten pairs of eyes on me. "Lauren Beverly, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I head over to the sword fighting area, and set the dummy to level ten fighting. We clash and fight, and the dummy's on the floor in around two minutes. To show that I'm not just a good sword fighter, I head over to the poisonous plants station, and sort out the edible plants from the inedible plants. I check my score, and realize I mixed up nightlock and blueberries. Darn it, that would have killed me if I ate them. Now I probably won't get a good score. The buzzer rings, and I'm sent out of the room.

I'm not surprised with Ray's five. I think that's what he deserved. I don't think that's what he thought, though. His face is all red, and hatred is living in his eyes. "Lauren Beverly, with a score of five." Well, I guess I didn't expect anything better after I messed up at the poisonous plants station. I guess I'll just have to live with that five. After all, it's better than I got last time; a four.

**Marcabeth Sythyne (D9 M 17)**

"Marcabeth Sythyne, please report to the training room for your private training session." I walk into the room, still unsure of what I'm going to do. I was best at swimming, so I guess that's what I'll have to do. "Marcabeth Sythyne, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I run over and dive into the pool. I swim some laps as fast as my legs and arms can carry me. After two minutes of this, I decide that this is probably really boring for the Gamemakers, so I hop out of the water, and run over to the weight lifting station, not caring that I'm soaking wet. I lift up a fifty pound weight and chuck it ten feet. I pick up another one, and chuck this one eight feet. I guess I'm getting tired. At last, the buzzer rings, and I'm told to leave.

I'm so nervous. I don't know what to expect. I didn't look at the Gamemakers at all, so I don't know what their facial expressions were, or if they were even watching me. They could have turned into werewolves while I was swimming and throwing weights, and I wouldn't have even noticed. Finally, it's District 9's turn. "District 9; Marcabeth Sythyne with a score of six." Awww. I only got a six. I think I should have gotten a point or two higher, but oh well.

**Flower Guiana (D9 F 18)**

I walk in the double doors. I'm ready to show these Gamemakers that you don't have to be big or tall to be strong and a good player in the Games. "Flower Guiana, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I practically jog over to the weight lifting station. It's wierd, because everything's a little wet over here. Despite the wetness, I lie down on the bench press, and spot the seventy-five pound barbell. I grab it, and lift it above my head. The Gamemakers should be amazed at this, considering that I only weigh eighty pounds. I lift the barbell up and down a few more times, and then pick up the twenty-five pound weight, and throw it seventeen feet. I grab a fifty pound one, and throw it eight feet. Then my buzzer rings, so my time is up.

I sit on the couch, wondering what score I got. Last time, I got a six. I wonder what it will be this time. "Flower Guiana with a score of eight." Wow an eight! That's pretty good for someone my gender and size. Marcabeth gives me a pat on the back, but that doesn't hide the jealousness in his eyes. I don't think he's happy with his six.

**Larry Frost (D10 M 16)**

"Larry Frost, please report to the training room for your private training session." I walk in, wondering what to do. I haven't been able to work much at anything because I've been helping Harris and Erika. "Larry Frost, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I walk over to the spear throwing section. Anyone can throw spears. I worked on spear throwing a little bit with Harris and Erika, so I can't be too bad at it. I throw ten spears at the target. Six of them hit it, four fall short. Okay, I guess spear throwing isn't my strong suit. Then, I walk over to the knife throwing station. I can't be too bad at this. Oops, I was wrong. Only five out of my ten knives hit the target. The buzzer rings, and I'm told to leave. I guess I should have been working a little more with my own skills than with Harris's and Erika's skills.

I'm not too pumped about hearing my score. I know I did horribly, so I don't really want to hear it. However, if I try to resist, my mentor will probably force me to stay to see the scores, so I just go with the flow. "District 10; Larry Frost with a score of four." Well, it's not like I expected anything better.

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

"Yvonne Starr, please report to the training room for your private training session." I walk in the room, and notice that the only Gamemaker looking at me is the head Gamemaker. All the rest are looking at their food, chatting, or staring off in to space because they're drunk. The head Gamemaker's voice snaps most of them back to their senses. "Yvonne Starr, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I walk over to the knive throwing section. Being in an alliance with Larry, Mr. Stupid, and Mrs. Stupid has only helped me conjure up one skill, knife throwing. I guess I'll just throw knives the whole time. If the Gamemakers are looking for something original, well too bad, because my knife throwing will be about as interesting as watching Harris try to remember facts about himself, which believe me, takes forever. So I pick up some knives and throw them at the target. Then I go retrieve them, and throw them again. I repeat this action twice more, until the buzzer rings. Overall, I hit the target fifteen out of twenty times. Well, I suppose I'll get a better score than Erika.

I'm nervous to see my score. I don't really care what I get, as long is it's a better score than everyone else in my alliance. I almost laugh out loud when I hear Larry's score. He only got a four; what a loser. Then I tell myself that I could just as well have gotten a four also. The happiness disappears from my body, and Mellabe finally reads my score. "Yvonne Starr, with a score of six." Well, I suppose that's not too bad, but I was expecting a seven. But when Erika's score comes on, I can't help it. I burst out laughing like a hyena.

**Harris Framer (D11 M 18)**

"Harris Framer, please report to the training room for your private training session." Erika nudges me in the shoulder. Oh yeah, that's me. I walk through the double doors, like everyone else did when they were called. Oh yeah, I recognize this room. This is where Larry taught me and Erika a bunch of stuff for what he calls, 'The Hunger Games'. Then, a guy says, "Harris Framer, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

Hmmm, I wonder what five minutes mean. I stand there, and then remember what Larry told me to do before he came into this room. He said to grab one of those shiny and pointy things that he calls a knife, and throw it at the big red circles on the wall. I walk over to where the shiny pointy things are. I think Larry called them 'knives". I grab one of them and step behind the big black line on the floor. I take a step back with my left foot, and then step forward and release the knife thing from my hand. It misses the red circle, so I pick it up, walk over to the red circle, and stick it in. There we go. I go pick another knife up and stand behind the line. When I throw this one, it misses again, so I walk up and stick it onto the red circle again. Then, I go grab another knife. I stand behind the knife, and throw this one at the red circle. This one sticks to the wall, but it's under the red circles. I run up, pull it out of the wall, and then push it into the red circle thing. Then, a loud buzzing noise fills my head, and the guy says, "Thank you. You may leave." I wonder what that means. I walk over and pick up another knife and step behind the black line. Then the guy says, "Harris, you may exit through those doors now." Oh, he was talking to me. I wave, drop the knife, and walk out the door.

I wonder what's going on. Juno said that we're getting something called our 'scores'. I wonder what that means. We watch the television, and this guy with purple hair reads some words out from a paper. His purple hair is funny. I've never seen someone with purple hair. I wish my hair was purple. Then Juno says that the purple hair guy will say my name soon, so I listen. "District 11," (I wonder what that is) "Harris Framer with a score of two." Hmmm, I wonder what a 'two' is.

**Erika Destiny (D11 F 17)**

"Erika Destiny please report to the training room for your private training session." I think that voice is for me. I walk in the two doors and walk around because I forget what to do. All of a sudden, I slip on something wet near the pool, and I fall. I my head on the ground and pretty stars form around me. Then, everything turns black.

I open my eyes to see two men in big white coats and glasses. "What happened?" I ask.

"You slipped on some water and suffered a concussion," one of them says.

"What's a concussion?" I ask.

"It's when you hit your head really hard and get knocked out."

"What is knocked out?" I ask.

"It's when you kind of fall asleep from hitting your head too hard on something."

"Oh, okay," I say.

A few hours later, I sit on a couch, watching a guy read some people's names off of paper with numbers. After he says Harris's name and number, he says mine. "Erika Destiny with a score of one." I wonder what a 'one' is.

**Tyson Harper (D12 M 16)**

I walk into the training room. I think I know what I'm going to do. "Tyson Harper, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I head over to the spear throwing section, and throw some spears. Eight out of ten hit the target. That's pretty good for me. Then I walk over to the knife throwing station. I pick up some knives and throw them towards the target. Eight out of ten of then hit the target; again, not bad for me. The buzzer rings and I walk out.

I hope I got a good score. Mary Lay got a seven. That's a good enough score. I'm happy to have her in my alliance. Cyan, however, got a five. But he has more brains than muscles, so I guess I'll live with the five. Now, it's District 12's turn. I hope I get at least a seven. "District 12; Tyson Harper with a score of eight." Well, I'll take an eight. It's a pretty good score.

**Carlisle Feingold (D12 F 18)**

I sit in the room by the training room, waiting for my name to be called. It's kind of lonely in here. "Carlisle Feingold, please report to the training room for your private training session." Finally! I walk through the doors and into the training room. "Carlisle Feingold, you have five minutes to impress us. Your time starts now."

I walk over to the poisonous plants station and sort the plants out. It takes me only two minutes, and when I check my score, I see that I got them all right. Then I head over to the knot tying station and start a fire with some flint in a matter of seconds. Finally, the buzzer rings, and I am told to leave.

I sit on the couch, awaiting my score. The scores have been unusually high this year. I suppose that's because everyone here is a second place tribute. At last Mellabe announces the final tribute of the day. "Carlisle Feingold with a score of six." Well I guess that's not a bad score. A six is a good enough score.

**Okay, here's a list of the tributes and their scores followed by their scores from their last Hunger Games in parenthesis:**

**District 1:**

**Shadow Truly: 11 (9)**

**Sunny Loffman: 10 (9)**

**District 2:**

**Masher Lynch: 11 (11)**

**Phenomena York: 10 (9)**

**District 3:**

**Katie Joel: 11 (8)**

**Lyandel Hammond: 5 (4)**

**District 4:**

**Jackie Chio: 10 (9)**

**Mary Kay Hong: 11 (8)**

**District 5:**

**Julian Dynamic: 8 (6)**

**Carolina Miller: 8 (7)**

**District 6:**

**Herbert Cosine: 7 (6)**

**Sidney During: 6 (6)**

**District 7:**

**Cyan Holliday: 5 (4)**

**Mary Lay Sowell: 7 (8)**

**District 8:**

**Ray Flash: 5 (6)**

**Lauren Beverly: 5 (4)**

**District 9:**

**Marcabeth Sythyne: 6 (7)**

**Flower Guiana: 8 (6)**

**District 10:**

**Larry Frost: 4 (5)**

**Yvonne Starr: 6 (6)**

**District 11:**

**Harris Framer: 2 (6)**

**Erika Destiny: 1 (8)**

**District 12:**

**Tyson Harper: 8 (7)**

**Carlisle Feingold: 6 (6)**

**Next comes the interviews, and after that comes the bloodbath! Yay! :-)**


	9. Chapter 9: Interviews

**Here's the Interviews, hosted by Mellabe Archimedes. I only included little snippets of the tributes' entire interview cause if I included the whole thing it would be too long and boring. **

**I****nterviews:**

**Sunny Loffman (D1 F 14)**

"So Sunny, you're a very young career, but you showed us in your Games that your size and age don't matter. Will this be the same story in the Games?"

"Yes, I will show everyone what I can do, but this time, I'm going to win to prove my point."

"Well, thank you for coming out tonight, and we can't wait to hear from you in the Games!"

"Thank you, Mellabe."

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

"Last time you were in the Games, Shadow, you really showed us how much of a career you really were. In fact, I think many of us thought you would go all the way to victory. Will it be the same story this year, or will you win, hands down?

"Oh I'm absolutely going to win. And any tribute who thinks differently, will get their throat slit personally by me."

**Phenomena York (D2 F 17)**

"Now Phenomena, I have to say, I do love your hair. Purple looks great on you."

"Thank you Mellabe. I personally asked my stylists to dye it purple for me, and they told me I could keep it purple for the Games if I wanted to, and I told them that I'd love that."

"Well I'm sure we'll all be looking out for you and your purple hair in the arena."

**Masher Lynch (D2 M 18)**

"Masher, you had a truly phenomenal preformance in the Eighth Quarter Quell. You are quite a career."

"Thank you Mellabe. Yes, I do think I played well in the Games, and I think this year, I have enough skill to make it all the way."

"I believe so too. That was quite an interesting spin they put in that Quarter Quell where every tribute had a clone of themselves in the Games, so they basically had two lives."

"Yes it was. I would have enjoyed watching it on the television if I hadn't been in it."

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

"Now Katie, I'm sure most of us were shocked by your amazing training score of eleven. I'm sure most people don't expect that from a thirteen year old from District 3. Were you shocked too?"

"Yes, I was very shocked. I didn't even think I'd get a nine."

"Do you have any hints for us on what you did, or is it a surprise for the arena?"

"I think I'll keep that information secret. I think it will help me a lot during the Hunger Games."

**Lyandel Hammond (D3 M 16)**

"Lyandel, you made it very far last time with the help of your furtive and smart ways. Is that the game plan for this year?"

"Yeah, it helped me a lot last time, so I guess it can't fail this time."

"So do you think you have what it takes to win the Games?"

"Yeah, I think so."

**Mary Kay Hong (D4 F 16)**

"I have to say, Mary Kay, your score of eleven in training was very unexpected. Did you expect it?"

"No, I barely knew what I was going to do walking into training."

"So, any strategies for the Games?"

"Well last time I survived by basically piggybacking off of the other careers. This year, I can fend more for myself."

**Jackie Chio (D4 M 18)**

"Jackie I was very impressed by the way you handled the end of the 232nd Hunger Games. You came out of hiding and fought like a man. And, you also let that helpless girl into the career pack by telling your fellow careers that she was the best fighter you had ever seen. Very spectacular performance, Jackie. You played well. Are you glad you have a second chance?"

"Yes, I am glad, because now I can win and get back to my family and friends. I'm sure they've missed me."

"Will it be odd, if you go back, everyone being eighteen years older now than when you left them?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. Friendship and family shouldn't be based on age."

**Carolina Miller (D5 F 15)**

"I seem to remember you coming from a large family, Carolina. Is that true?"

"Yes, I had two younger brothers named Carter and Mikey, an older brother named Lenny, a younger sister named Clarissa, an older sister named Ellidore, and my mom and dad."

"Wow, that must have been quite a household."

"Yes, I wonder how they are all doing now. It's been fifty-one years since I've seen them. I hope they're all alive and well."

**Julian Dynamic (D5 M 17)**

"Julian, are you excited to be going back to the Games this year? Do you really think you have a chance to bring home the crown this year?"

"I don't know if I'm excited to go back to the Games. I mean, I don't want to die again. I think I have a chance winning this year. I mean, my skill will never match that of the careers, but I think I can get myself into the final five if I try hard enough. After all, I made it to the final two thirty-one years ago."

"Yes, I think many people have faith in you. A score of eight isn't bad at all, especially for a non-career."

"Yes, my eight was pretty unexpected, but I think I deserved it."

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

"Sidney, your dress is truly stunning today. I love that color on you! It kind of reminds me of a pretty red rose."

"Thanks, Mellabe. And I think my stylists did do a good job on it. It's gorgeous!"

"Yes, it is! It's one of the prettiest I've seen in my twenty years of hosting the Games."

"Thanks. I love it!"

**Herbert Cosine (D6 M 18)**

"So Herbert, do you have any special family members that you've been dying to see after seventy-eight years? Are you curious about what has happened while you were dead?"

"Not really. I mean, I have a sister and a dad; my mom died shortly after I was born. My dad's probably dead now, and my sister and I never really had a good relationship with each other."

"So if you make it back home, what will you do?"

"Well, I think I'll live a nice life in victor's village, maybe marry, I don't know."

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

"Mary Lay, you're a very familiar face, being from last year. I'm sure we all remember your spectacular performance."

"Thanks, Mellabe. I guess I did pretty well."

"You have a younger sister, don't you?"

"Yes, my mom and dad died two years ago, so I was the only family she had. I need to win this year, to get back to her."

**Cyan Holliday (D7 M 16)**

"Cyan, you're a face that many of us probably don't recognize, including me. You competed in the Games almost a hundred years ago. Do you find it wierd, that had you won, you'd be older than most of us, and maybe even dead?"

"Yes, it's interesting to think about, as well as sad. This means all my friends and family are probably dead, so if I make it back to District 7, I'll be starting basically a whole new life."

"I hadn't thought of it that way. It must be pretty sad."

"Yeah, it is."

**Lauren Beverly (D8 F 17)**

"Lauren, I have to say, you did very well in the 237th Hunger Games. You were very spectacular."

"Thank you, Mellabe."

"Should we expect the same thing this year?"

"Oh, yes. I'm in it to win it this year. I'm pretty sure I have a shot at victory."

**Ray Flash (D8 M 15)**

"Ray, you're very strong for someone your size. You showed us that in the 177th Hunger Games."

"Thanks, Mellabe. I do think I'm very strong."

"Do you think your score of five is fair?"

"Absolutely not! I deserved at least a seven!"

**Flower Guiana (D9 F 18)**

"Flower, you are one of the strongest female non-career tributes that I've ever known to be in the Hunger Games. That's impressive, considering that you're only four-foot ten inches."

"Thanks. I'll definitely use my strength to my advantage."

"Your strength and tiny stature helped you a lot in the 222nd Hunger Games. I remember you climbing very high up into trees where your opponents couldn't reach you."

"Yes, that was my strategy for the last Games. Hopefully, it will work again."

**Marcabeth Sythyne (D9 M 17)**

"You had a big family at home, didn't you Marcabeth?"

"Yeah, I had two brothers and two sisters."

"Do you have any childhood experiences with them that you'd like to share with us."

"Well my dad owned this big grain plantation, and we would always run around it and play hide and seek. We were all within about seven years of each other, so we had fun together. I was the oldest."

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

"Yvonne, I seem to remember that you have a twin sister."

"Yes, I do. Her name is Lissa. We were best friends with each other. We barely argued, and we had lots of fun together."

"Is it wierd to think that Lissa is forty-eight years older than you now?"

"Yes, it's very wierd. I'm sure she's finding it wierd now to be watching me as if it were forty-eight years ago."

**Larry Frost (D10 M 16)**

"Larry, what I think we remember most from when you were in the Games, is when you found that little girl who somehow got into the arena, and took care of her untill the Capitol to send a hovercraft down. Was that an interesting experience for you?"

"Yes, I had never heard of little kids just showing up in the arena, but she told me that she had run away from home and just happened to find the arena and walk in where the force field was weak."

"Well, she has been returned to her parents, and she now lives a happy life, just to let you know. I think she just turned ten."

"That's great! Thanks for telling me."

**Erika Destiny (D11 F 17)**

"Erika, you were a very strong tribute in the 234th Hunger Games, were you not."

"I guess so."

"Are you going to do as well this year."

"I guess so."

**Harris Framer (D11 M 18)**

"Harris, do you have any family you've been missing?"

"Any what?"

"Any family?"

"Oh, family. Erika, and Lissy, my mentor, and Harold, my stylist are my family."

**Carlisle Feingold (D12 F 18)**

"Carlisle, you have a very pretty dress on tonight too. Did you pick this one out?"

"Yes, I did. My stylists showed me pictures of about ten dress styles, and they asked me which one I liked best. They also gave me about twenty colors to choose from."

"Well, I do say, you certainly picked the right style and color."

"Yeah, it reminded me of the color of a baby pig I found one day in District 12. I took it home, and took care of it, and had lots of fun with it. My sister told me she'd take care of him when I got reaped for the Games last time. I still miss that little guy."

**Tyson Harper (D12 M 16)**

"Tyson, you were a very strong tribute in your last journey through the Games. It helped you a lot. Will this strength help you again?"

"Absolutely. I spent lots of time on weapons and weight lifting in the training room."

"So should the tributes look out for you in the arena?"

"Absolutely."


	10. Chapter 10: Bloodbath

**Okay, ready or not, it's bloodbath time! Yay! :-D**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

I get one last glance at my stylist, and then the tube rises up to ground level. Will this arena work to my advantages? Hopefully it will. I was fine with the last arena I was in, so hopefully this one won't be too different.

The first colors I see when I rise out of the ground are blue and green. A cloudless sky hovers above us. I look around and see that we are on an island; one about as big enough to hold a house the size of one in Victor's Village. I look around, and see we are surrounded by clean, light blue water. On the water, many islands lie, some as small as a bathroom, yet others as big as our district's biggest plantation. I see a huge island with a cliff and a waterfall, a small one holding only a rock and a tree, and a bare one the size of my house.

On the island we are standing on, all twenty-four tributes are positioned around the cornucopia. The cornucopia is overflowing with bags and weapons. I think I'll grab one or two that are closest to me when the gong sounds, and then dash away. I'm not waiting for Larry, Erika, and Harris. They will only slow me down... a lot.

The countdown starts.

60...  
59...  
58...  
57...  
56...  
55...

I wonder which island I'll go to.

54...  
53...  
52...  
51...  
50...  
49...  
48...  
47...  
46...  
45...

There's a big one with a jungle that looks very promising.

44...  
43...  
42...  
41...  
40...  
39...  
38...  
37...  
36...  
35...

The one with the cliff and the waterfall doesn't look too bad either.

34...  
33...  
32...  
31...  
30...  
29...  
28...  
27...  
26...  
25...

I think I'll head to the one with the big jungle.

24...  
23...  
22...  
21...  
20...  
19...  
18...  
17...  
16...  
15...

Which bag and weapon should I go for?

14...  
13...  
12...  
11...  
10...  
9...  
8...  
7...  
6...  
5...

I spot about five thowing knives sticking out of a small bag next to a bigger bag.

4...  
3...

I'll grab the knives and the bag, throw the knives into the bigger bag, jump into the water, and head for the jungle.

2...  
1...

The gong goes off, and I head straight for the bags that I want. I grab them, duck a sword flying toward me out of nowhere, and dive into the water.

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

I'm so excited to finally start these Games. I'm hungry for some kills.

5...  
4...  
3...  
2...  
1...

The gong goes off, and I head to the closest weapon, a spear. I scan the island to find the closest, most helpless, tribute, and run toward the boy from District 3. "Hey Lyandel," I say, remembering his name. "I think you're too late to leave this island." I plunge the spear into his gut, and he falls in a heap to the ground. This is going great. One tribute down, twenty-two to go.

**Masher Lynch (D2 M 18)**

I've just seen Shadow take down that boy from District 3. It's my turn for a kill. I scan the island for a machette; my favorite weapon. I can't find one, so I settle with the sharpest one I can find. Now, I search around for someone to kill.

I see the boy from eleven picking up a small blue bag, and looking at it with a dazed look in his eyes; perfect. I think he's the brainwashed one. I walk over to him. "Hey, Eleven!" I shout at him. He doesn't move. "Hey Eleven!" I shout even louder. He must not know I'm reffering to him. I stick the knife in his face. "Hey Eleven."

Now he turns around. "Are you talking to me," he asks. "Cause my name's Harris, not 'Eleven'."

"Who cares what your name is," I say, and I plunge the knife into his heart. He collapses to the ground. Perfect; now Shadow and I are even, but we won't be for long. I look around for more tributes to kill. My now, about half have jumped into the water and swam away. I search around for another weakling.

**Ray Flash (D8 M 15)**

I run to a bag with a sword on top of it. Immediately, I see that the girl from District 12 has the same idea. I know I am quicker than her, though, so I sprint as fast as I can and grab the sword. I chuck it at her and it misses. I scramble to the next weapon, a bag of throwing knives, and chuck them at the girl. The first misses, the second misses, but the third hits her in the head. She collapses and screams in pain. I walk up close to her and chuck the fourth one at her heart, and silence her screaming.

While I am killing the girl from Twelve, I don't notice the girl from One approaching behind me with a spear. She stabs it into my back, and pulls it out as I fall to the ground. I scream in pain on the ground, and she forces the spear in again, forcing my world into blackness.

**Larry Frost (D10 M 16)**

Erika and I jumped into the water right after we saw Harris get killed. I had planned to stick around to get more weapons and to find Yvonne, but I don't want Erika to die like Harris did. Good thing we spent time learning how to swim. This helps us a lot. We swim for a couple minutes to the nearest, yet biggest island we can find. We climb onto a big one with a jungle in it. We climb ashore, and walk for about five minutes on foot.

After this five minutes, I figure we're about in the center of the island, so we stop and set up a camp. The island is blooming with plants and wildlife, so we find a big bush that we can conceal ourselves easily in. We sit and wait for the bloodbath to end, so we can see how many tributes died.

**Sunny Loffman (D1 M 14)**

Just about all the tributes have disappeared from the island. I now see why the Gamemakers had a pool in the training room this year. I watch Shadow approach the last non-career on the island. He's the tall one from District 7, and I doubt he can swim. He's doing an okay job ducking the blows from Shadow's spear. Finally, one hits him full blast in the chest, and he falls to the ground. Shadow kicks the boy's body into the water.

I guess the Gamemakers count that as the end of the bloodbath, because the cannons start firing.

"Boom."

"Boom."

"Boom."

"Boom."

"Boom."

Five deaths; pretty average for a bloodbath, but I would have expected more considering that the conucopia's on an island, and not all districts teach people how to swim. I guess most of them knew how to swim because of that pool.

The six of us leaf through the corucopia to find all the supplies and weapons that weren't taken. We find lots of food, water, first aid kits, night vision goggles, sleeping bags, and other survival materials in the bags. We find bows and arrows, a variety of knives, swords, and spears. It's not a huge variety, but it's enough.

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

Our alliance has escaped to a big island with a stream that runs through most of it. The island is kind of a forest landscape, with trees, plants, and animals everywhere. Now that Carlisle has died, I took control of the alliance. Our alliance is constructed out of me, Carolina, Flower, and Lauren. We find a nice spot near the river to settle and create a camp. I turn to the group and say, "Anyone want to come look for food with me?"

"I will," says Lauren. So Lauren and I walk alongside the stream, scanning the area for food, while Carolina and Flower set up our camp and take inventory on what we have in the bags we picked up at the bloodbath.

Lauren and I walk for about ten minutes, and find a blueberry bush. We pick all the blueberries we see, and stuff them in the empty bag we took along with us. We walk for a little while, and then find another bush blossoming with berries; raspberries this time. We pick as many as we can, and I decide we have enough for a few days since there's probably some food in a few of the bags.

_**Here's a recap of the bloodbath deaths:**_

**Lyandel Hammond (D3 M 16)**

Killed by Shadow. He took a spear to the stomach.

**Harris Framer (D11 M 18)**

Killed by Masher. A knife was thrust into his heart.

**Carlisle Feingold (D12 F 18)**

Killed by Ray. She was hit in the head and the heart by throwing knives.

**Ray Flash (D8 M 15)**

Killed by Sunny. He was hit many times in the back with a spear.

**Cyan Holliday (D7 M 16)**

Killed by Shadow. A spear was plunged into his chest.

_**Here's recaps of who killed who:**_

**Shadow: Lyandel, Cyan**

**Masher: Harris**

**Ray: Carlisle**

**Sunny: Ray**

_**Here's updates on alliances:**_

**Shadow/Sunny/Masher/Phenomena/Jackie/Mary Kay**

**Sidney/Carolina/Lauren/Flower**

**Larry/Erika**

**Yvonne**

**The rest are unknown.**

**Yay, the deaths have started! All five of them were destined to die in the bloodbath because of their weaknesses, especially Lyandel and Harris. So, next chapter will probably be the rest of day one, and will catch up on the other alliances. :-) **


	11. Chapter 11: End of Day One

**Day One (after bloodbath):**

**Herbert Cosine (D6 M 18)**

Watching Lyandel die was horrible. He was my only alliance; my only friend going into these Games. However, he was very weak. I didn't think he'd win, but I didn't think he'd die so soon either. Now I'm stuck on my own, stranded, with nothing but a green drawstring bag and the wilderness for company. When I swam away from the island, I swam to the big island with the cliff and the waterfall. Right now, I am setting up just a few feet away from the waterfall. I hope I don't get caught by another tribute here.

I open the bag to see what I picked up at the bloodbath. I find a packet of dried fruit, an empty bottle, and a sleeping bag. I fill the bottle up with some water from the waterfall. I open the fruit and eat half of it. I decide to save the rest for later. I roll out my sleeping bag, and try to hide it in a bush. I need to be hidden, but I don't really like heights, so I don't want to climb a tree. I just sit on the ground, brooding, for the rest of the day.

**Tyson Harper (D12 F 16)**

Mary Lay and I have settled down on a mid-sized island with a gigantic boulder in the center, that juts through and above all the trees. We find a nice crevice in the rock that will work well as a cave. I climb in first and check for any animals or tributes that may be in it. Besides a bat, the cave looks good, so both of us climb all the way in, and sit on the cold, hard ground.

Mary Lay picked up two bags, a bow, and a dozen arrows from the bloodbath, and I picked up one bag and a spear. We open the bags to find a pair of night vision goggles, two sleeping bags, a packet of dried fruit, two first aid kits, a can of soup, two empty bottles, and a pack of matches. We take out the sleeping bags and lay them on the ground of the cave. We transfer the supplies into two bags, and decide to use the other for food that we find.

Mary Lay suggests we go look for some food, so we take the empty bag and the empty bottles and walk out of the cave. First, we walk over to the side of the lake or ocean or whatever the big body of water is."Do you think it's saltwater?" Mary Lay asks.

"I don't know," I say. "There's only one way to find out." I dip one of the bottles in and fill it up all the way. I raise the bottle to my lips and take a sip. I am delighted to find that it's fresh water. "It's fresh water," I say.

"Good," she says, and she fills the other bottle up. Then, we set off in search of food.

When we've found enough we return back to camp. "Hey Mary Lay," I say.

"What?"

"Do you want to go tribute hunting? We've got nothing better to do."

"Sure," she replies, so we set off.

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

I sit down the rock, and look across the arena. Right now, I'm sitting on top of a cliff on a big island. A stream and a waterfall run through the cliff. I scan the arena and spot the island with the cornucopia on it. The careers are on this island. Some of them are sorting through bags, while others are just resting.

I switch my eyes over to the next island; a mid-sized one with a big boulder sticking out above the trees. I can't see anything that's going on at this island, because the landscape is covered in trees.

I also see another island kind of like that one. This one looks relatively normal. It's just a forest landscape with a stream running through it.

The next island I see is a big one. It's a jungle landscape, covered in trees, vines, and plants. On this island, I see a girl and a boy walking on the edge of the island. They don't seem to be doing anything; just walking.

On another middle-sized island, I see nothing except grass. There are no trees, bushes, plants, tributes, animals, tributes, or anything on this island. I doubt anyone will ever settle on this island. It's too exposed.

Besides all of these islands, no more are bigger than the cornucopia island. There are about ten of these small islands dotted around the water. None of them look occupied.

I am startled by a splashing sound coming from below the cliff and waterfall. I peek over the edge to see the boy from District 6. I don't yell anything to him or say anything. I don't want to start a fuss. As far as I know, he could be strong enough to kill me. I'll leave him alone if he leaves me alone.

**Larry Frost (D10 M 16)**

Erika and I walk around the perimeter of the lake. We got bored back at our camp, so I suggested we go for a walk. Our walk has been going pretty well. We haven't encountered much so far; just a few plants and animals.

All of a sudden, a girl jumps out from behind a tree, followed by a boy. The girl picks up her bow and arrows, and aims for Erika. "No!" I shout, and as the girl shoots the arrow, I jump in front of Erika. The arrow hits me full blast in the chest. The last thing I see before blacking out, is the boy lunging at Erika with a spear.

**Flower Guiana (D9 F 18)**

Carolina, Sidney, Lauren, and I sit near the stream. Lauren and Sidney are trying to catch fish with a spear, and Carolina and I are organizing supplies into separate bags. We separate them into six bags; a green food bag, a purple food bag, a blue first aid bag, a red sleeping bag bag, a green sleeping bag bag, and a miscellaneous bag. We also sort the weapons; two bows and two dozen arrows, a spear, ten throwing knives, and a sword.

"Boom."

"Boom."

I wonder who those were for. We finish up sorting everything, and then walk over to see what Lauren and Sidney are doing. They have caught two mid-sized fish. "I think that's enough, guys," I say. We have a lot of food." I hold up the two food bags.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sidney says. "What do you think we should do with the fish? The only way I can think of cooking them is by starting a fire, and that would be a bit risky."

"I don't know," I say. "I guess we can just throw them in the bag, and if we run out of food, we can worry about cooking them, but not yet."

"Okay," Sidney says. "That makes sense. We'll only worry about them if it's necessary."

We all walk back over to our camp and roll out the sleeping bags. We picked up four of them from the bloodbath, which is perfect. We all sit on the sleeping bag in a circle. We have nothing to do, so for the next two hours, we just talk to each other. We talk about our families, our friends, our home, childhood memories, and anything that makes us feel happy. I find myself having fun for the first time, since before I was reaped twenty-eight years ago.

The fun fades when I see a slight movement out if the corner of my eye. I look over, and decide I just imagined it. I turn back around to listen to Lauren's story about her pet dog. She stops in mid-sentence and I look up at her. An arrow is sticking out of her head.

"Boom."

A girl and boy jump out from behind a tree and aim their weapons for us. "Run!" I scream, and the three of us each grab a bag or two and a weapon. We run as fast as we can down the river. I hear four sets of feet running after me. I hear a scream and a boom. Now only three sets of feet are following after me. I don't turn around to see who it was. I continue running as fast as I can. Two of the sets of feet start to fade behind me.

A few seconds later, Sidney appears at my side. "Up a tree," she pants. I climb up the next one I can find. I climb up until I'm as high as I can go. Sidney appears at my side a minute later.

"Did we loose them?" I ask.

"I think so," she says, "but I'm not positive."

"What bags do you have?" I ask.

She peeks her head into the bag. "Let's see, I have a food bag, and a spear."

"Okay," I say. "I have the first aid bag, the miscellaneous bag, and the bow and arrows."

I guess it wasn't smart to organize the bags like that. We reorganize, and wait for the sun to set. When it does, the Panem Anthem plays, and we see the faces of the dead; the boy from three, Carolina, the boy from seven, the boy from eight, Lauren, the boy from ten, both from eleven, and Carlisle. The anthem stops, night falls, and Flower and I go to sleep.

_**Recap of this chapter's dead:**_

**Larry Frost (D10 M 16)**

Killed by Mary Lay. He was shot in the chest with an arrow aimed at Erika.

**Erika Destiny (D11 F 17)**

Killed by Tyson. She was hit in the head with a spear.

**Lauren Beverly (D8 F 17)**

Killed by Mary Lay. She was hit in the head with an arrow.

**Carolina Miller (D5 F 15)**

Killed by Tyson. She had a spear thrown through her stomach.

**_Recaps of who killed who:_**

**Shadow: Lyandel, Cyan**

**Mary Lay: Larry, Lauren**

**Tyson: Erika, Carolina**

**Masher: Harris**

**Ray: Carlisle**

**Sunny: Ray**

_**Updated alliances:**_

**Shadow/Sunny/Masher/Phenomena/Jackie/Mary Kay**

**Mary Lay/Tyson**

**Flower/Sidney**

**Yvonne**

**Katie**

**Herbert**

**_Unknown:_  
**

**Julian**

**Marcabeth**

**Larry and Erika had to die. Larry was too nice, and Erika was too brainwashed. The other two were too flat of characters, so there you go. :-)**


	12. Chapter 12: Day Two

**Day Two:**

**Julian Dynamic (D5 M 17)**

The sun rises on day two. Marcabeth and I have found a small cave to stay in. We're on an island with a huge rock in the center. We're going to the island with the jungle today, because I think I can find some food to eat there. Some of the berries I studied at the edible plants station were jungle berries, so I think I'll find some there.

We didn't risk getting anything at the bloodbath, so we have nothing to take to the next island. I suppose that's fine, because we'll have less weighing us down in the water.

We walk out of the cave and head for the water. I step in and feel the cold water saturate my shoes. Marcabeth follows after me. We swim and swim and swim, and we reach the jungle island in a few minutes.

I step on the island and look for somewhere to camp. "Which way?" I ask Marcabeth.

"I don't care," Marcabeth says. We walk in no particular direction for a while. We spot a big clump of bushes and decide to make a camp there, but first we need to find food.

We set off, and I scan the jungle for edible of edible berries. We find some hsu berries, and start picking them off the branch. Marcabeth stuffs a handful in his mouth. When he raises the berries up to his mouth, I notice that these berries have a small, light blue speck of color on the top. These aren't hsu berries; they're looterpine; one of the deadliest berries ever. "Wait, stop!" I shout, but it's too late; he has swallowed the berries. Instantly, he starts frothing at the mouth and his face turns purple. He falls to the ground as a cannon booms in the distance.

**Jackie Chio (D4 M 18)**

"You guys want to go tribute hunting?" Shadow asks.

"Yeah," Masher says.

"Sure," I say.

The girls just kind of mumble "Yes."

"Alright then," Shadow says. "Who wants to stay here on guard duty?"

"Me," Phenomena says.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Shadow says. "You can't swim."

Phenomena turns away, probably blushing. "Hey Shadow," Masher says. "Don't you think someone else should stay to help?"

"Okay," Shadow says. "You're staying too, Mary Kay. Now whoever's coming, let's go."

We set off for the island with the jungle on it. My guess is that lots of tributes are hiding here because of the great protection and concealment from all of the plants. This is going to be fun.

**Mary Kay Hong (D4 F 16)**

I'm so mad that Shadow made me stay behind. He thinks I'm weak. He thinks I'm stupid. He thinks I'm completely worthless! I turn over to Phenomena. I think she's a little nice, but her purple hair looks ridiculous in my opinion. "Hey, Phenomena," I say.

She looks up at me. "What?"

"Do you find Shadow really annoying too?"

"Yeah," she replies.

"Well, I've been doing a little thinking, and I think want to get rid of him, tonight."

"I agree too. He's so annoying."

"Well, here's what I think we should do..." We formulate a plan. I can't wait to get rid of Shadow.

**Futro Barnabash (Head Gamemaker)**

So these girls think they can get rid of Shadow? Well they'd better think again. My son will win these Games. He died in second place last time so that he could compete again. Some people probably think that that's crazy and stupid, but Shadow loves the Games so much, that he wanted to compete in it two times instead of one.

Okay, it's time to get down to business. I make sure I'm the only one in the control room. The rest are either on their lunch break or in the other control room. I make sure the cornucopia island camera is off, and then send a big robotic hand into the arena from the sky. I slam the steel hand on top of the two girls. They scream in pain, so I slam down the hand again and again and again until the girls have been reduced to smithereens. Then, I have the robotic hand sweep the pair of them into the water. I create two cannon blasts.

"Boom."

"Boom."

Just as I had expected, the Gamemakers from the other room burst into my room. "Mr. Barnabash!" one of them shouts. "Two tributes just disappeared off the map, and we have no recollection of their death!"

"Don't worry," I say. "I saw it all happen. The girl from four and the girl from two were on the cornucopia island. The girl from District 2 fell into the water. She can't swim, so the girl from District 4 dove in after, but the giant squid mutt we created dragged the pair of them under."

"The giant squid? He wasn't supposed to come out until at least the final seven!"

"He malfunctioned," I say. "But, he's under control now."

"Okay," the Gamemaker says. The three of them who walked over, walk back to their control room and continue to work. I played that perfectly, I think. I take a bite of chocolate cake, eat it, and check out what's happening in the other corners of the arena.

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

We jump off of the island, and swim back to our island. I'm mad that we didn't catch any tributes today. I was excited for a kill or two. We swim for a while, and finally step onto the land. I notice something odd as soon as I step on the island; Phenomena and Mary Kay are missing. "Where's Mary Kay and Phenomena?" I ask.

"I don't know," Masher says. We search the island for a few minutes, and decide that they have either abandoned us or died.

I look up and see a parachute falling down to me. I make sure no one is looking when it falls to me. Who knows what's in it? I don't need anything, because I have all the supplies I need. It falls into my hands, and I open it up. All I find in the parachute is a note that says, 'You're welcome.'

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

I am sitting in a tree on the jungle island right now. I've seen a lot of action go on from right here. Yesterday, I saw a boy and girl chasing three girls. One of the girls was killed, but I don't know what happened to the other two who were being chased. Today, I saw a boy die from eating a poisonous berry. The boy who was with him accidentally fed him the berry, and he fell to the ground and die. The boy who fed him the berry stayed by him for a while. I couldn't tell if he was crying or not, because I'm up in this tree. Then the boy left, and I was left with nothing else to do.

From the bloodbath, I got five throwing knives, a can of soup, a first aid kit, and a sleeping bag. I ate half of the soup last night, and the other half this morning, so I'm all out of food. I climb down from the tree with my bag and knives, just in case. I wander around the jungle for a while. After half an hour or so, I find a bush of hsu berries. These ones are real hsu berries not looterpine, because they don't have the blue speck on them. Hsu berries are big, about the size of my fist. I put ten in my bag and then decide to just climb up the nearest tree I can find. It's better if I'm near a food source. Then I remind myself that I need water. I set off to find some.

I head off in no particular way. I don't know which way is fastest to get to the lake that all the islands are positioned on. At least, I think it's a lake because it's freshwater, but it seems big for a lake. As the sun is about to set, I reach the lake. I don't have anything to fill up with water, so I take a few sips, and decide it's best to set up in a tree near the lake. I walk in the jungle about one hundred yards, and climb up a sturdy tree.

Finally, the sun sets, and the Panem Anthem plays. I see the faces of the girl from two, the girl from four, and the boy from nine. Wow; I wonder how the two careers died. Could it be possible that the career alliance has fought and broken up? Usually that doesn't happen until at least day four.

_**Recap of Deaths:**_

**Marcabeth Sythyne (D9 M 17)**

Killed from eating poisonous berries.

**Phenomena York (D2 F 17)**

Killed by Head Gamemaker Barnabash and the arena. She was crushed by a mechanical hand.

**Mary Kay Hong (D4 F 16)**

Killed by Head Gamemaker Barnabash and the arena. She was crushed by a mechanical hand.

_**Tributes Left (12):**_

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

**Sunny Loffman (D1 F 14)**

**Masher Lynch (D2 M 18)**

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

**Jackie Chio (D4 M 18)**

**Julian Dynamic (D5 M 17)**

**Herbert Cosine (D6 M 18)**

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

**Flower Guiana (D9 F 18)**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

**Tyson Harper (D12 M 16)**

_**Kills:**_

**Shadow: ****Lyandel, Cyan**

**Mary Lay: Larry, Lauren**

**Tyson: Erika, Carolina**

**Masher: Harris**

**Ray: Carlisle**

**Sunny: Ray**

_**Ally List:**_

**Shadow/Sunny/Masher/Sunny**

**Flower/Sidney**

**Mary Lay/Tyson**

**Julian**

**Herbert**

**Yvonne**

**Katie**

**Sorry if you liked Phenomena and/or Mary Kay, but they had to go, thanks to the Head Gamemaker. We're down to the final half of tributes. Yay! Day 3 is next! :-)**


	13. Chapter 13: Day Three

**Day Three:**

**Jackie Chio (D4 M 18)**

I open my eyes, and sun shines into them. I stand up and stretch, and walk to the edge of the lake. I sit down and dip my feet in. As the cool water laps around my feet, I find myself wondering about what happened to Mary Kay and Phenomena. I mean, they obviously died, but I wonder how that happened. There was no sign of a struggle or anything. They just disappeared.

I can't help but suspecting Shadow. It seems kind of stupid, because he was out hunting with us, but he has been acting a little suspicious lately. He hasn't been asking questions or wondering aloud about what happened. And yesterday, he got a parachute, and it looked like it only had a piece of paper in it. He smiled when he saw whatever was on the paper. But it wasn't a normal smile. It was evil cloaked in a smile.

I hear Shadow stir behind me. Within minutes, him, Masher, and Sunny are awake. I walk over to them. "So, do you guys want to go tribute hunting today?" Shadow asks.

"Sure," says Masher. "But who's staying behind to guard the stuff?"

"Hmmm," says Shadow, and he looks at me with his evil smile. "How about you, Jackie?"

I suppose I don't have a choice. "Okay," I say.

"Good," says Shadow. "Let's head off to that big island with the waterfall running running through the cliff."

They set off, and leave me stranded on the island. Now, I'll get down to business. I know Shadow probably put the piece of paper somewhere safe. If he was smart, he'd throw it in the lake so that no one could find it, but I don't think he's that smart.

First, I check all of the bags near his sleeping bag. I find nothing but supplies. I then check the rest of the bags, and find nothing. Maybe he did throw it in the lake. I walk over and take a sip of the cool lake water. Then, I remember a place I haven't checked; his sleeping bag. I walk over and run my hands through the fabric. Finally, I feel it; the note. I wrench it out of the sleeping bag, and hold it up. All it says is 'You're welcome.' What the heck does that mean?

I don't have time to think of possibilities. A big robotic hand descends from the sky. Before I can even duck or move, the robotic hand smashes into me. I scream in pain. The hand rises up again and falls onto me again. I black out from all of the pain.

**Futro Barnabash (Head Gamemaker)**

Drat! Another tribute has decided to turn against Shadow. Well, I guess I have to kill him too. I send in the robotic arm, and it crushes the boy to paste, and then sweeps him into the lake.

Once again, the Gamemakers in the next room run over to my room. "Mr. Barnabash! It happened again! Another tribute died and we don't know what happened!"

"Don't worry," I tell the anxious Gamemaker. "I saw the boy from District 4 die from another tribute. He was walking around the edge of the island and twisted his ankle. He fell in and was attacked by the giant squid."

"Why does the giant squid keep attacking people? If he keeps malfunctioning, we'll have to take him out."

"I realize that, so get to work on fixing it!" I shove the three of them out and slam the door. I hope Shadow hurries up and wins this thing. It's getting harder to cover up these deaths.

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

I have been camping out on the top of this cliff the whole time. I have access to a big raspberry bush and the waterfall, so I've been making out pretty well here.

The District 6 boy who's under the waterfall, on the other hand, hasn't been doing well. Yes, he's been doing well with water since he's behind the waterfall, and there's a juneberry bush just by his, but emotionally, he hasn't been doing very well. I think the last Games really killed him mentally.

A noise below me catches my ear, and I spot three of the careers stepping out of the lake and onto the island. I quickly conceal myself in the raspberry bush. It's a little uncomfortable, but it will save me. I peek out again and spot the careers walking along the stream, towards the bottom of the waterfall. I wonder if they know that that District 6 boy is there. My curiosity gets the best if me, and I crawl over to the edge of the cliff, and dangle my head over just a little.

The careers seem to know that there's a boy behind the waterfall, because they're whispering and pointing to it. The District 1 boy gets a spear out, the girl gets a sword out, and the District 2 boy takes a sword out too. The boy with the spear tiptoes over to the left of the waterfall. The swordsman and swordswoman go to the right. The District 1 boy holds up three fingers, then two, then one, and they attack. "Ahhhh!" I hear the District 6 boy scream. I hear the clinking and clanging of swords and spears throughout his screaming. Within a few seconds, the screaming has stopped, a cannon booms, amd the three careers emerge from under the waterfall.

"Nice job, Masher," the District 1 boy says. "But I get to finish up the next one."

"Okay," the boy who must be Masher says. "Where should we look next?"

"How about right above you?" the girl says Darn it, she has spotted me.

"Get her!" shouts the District 1 boy. They run over to the cliff and start climbing up. I run to the bush, grab my bag, and run. I always have my bag packed with raspberries, my sleeping bag, and my first aid kit, just in case I need to make a quick getaway like this. My guess, is I have about a three or four minute head start on them because they still have to climb the cliff. I run across the top of the cliff for about ten minutes, then I climb down the side of the side of the cliff, and disappear into the rainforest below it. I find a good tree, and climb up. I look up at the cliff, and see the three careers sprint by. Good, they didn't see me climb down. I decide to take a nap, and let sleep overcome me.

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

The first day in the arena, Tyson and I went tribute hunting. The second day, we rested and collected food. Today, we will go tribute hunting again. I grab my bow and arrows, Tyson grabs his spear, and we set off for the water.

When we reach the lake, I look over at the careers' island. It doesn't look like anyone's on it. "Hey Tyson," I say. "It looks like no one's on the career island. Do you want to go take a look and steal some supplies?"

"Sure," he says. "We don't really need much, but if we steal some, it's less that the careers have."

We swim over to the cornucopia island, and take a look around. We're delighted to find no careers. The careers have made a big pile of supplies and weapons inside the cornucopia. They also have some bags and weapons scattered around the island. Tyson and I walk over to the cornucopia. We each grab two bags. I also grab a spare bow and dozen arrows, and Tyson grabs an extra spear. We don't take a lot, or the careers might realize we stole from them and come after us.

When we're done, we head back to our island with the huge boulder in the center. We drop off our extra supplies in our cave. Then, we set off to an island to find some tributes to kill.

**Flower Guiana (D9 F 18)**

Sidney and I have been living in this tree for almost two days. We're starting to run low on food and water, so we decide to climb down and find some to last us a few days.

We reach the lake in about half an hour. We fill up our water bottles, and get ready to leave to find some food. All of a sudden, my eye catches something moving in the water. I cast my eyes over the lake, and spot two tributes swimming towards us. They're only about fifty feet away from us. Horror fills my body when I realized that they're the tributes who killed Lauren and Carolina.

"Run!" I shout to Sidney, and we take off for the jungle. Good thing we brought our bags with us. We run for a while, just in case they're following us. Then, we climb up a sturdy tree, and rest our tired feet. About two minutes later, they run by, but I know we are safe up in this tree.

**Masher Lynch (D2 M 18)**

The sun is about to set, so Sunny, Shadow, and I decide to head back to camp. Today went okay, I guess. We killed one boy, and almost killed a girl. At least I'm the one who had the honor of killing the boy.

We arrive back to camp, and I instantly realize that Jackie's not there. What happened to him? Did he die the same way Phenomena and Mary Kay died? This is getting really peculiar. Well, at least Sunny's the one who will have to stay behind tomorrow. I'm better friends with Masher than Sunny is.

Finally, the sun sets, and we climb into our sleeping bags, ready to see who died today. Tonight, the sky reveals the faces of Jackie and the boy from District 6 who I killed. I've lost track of how many tributes are still left in the arena. Sunny's usually good at remembering these kinds of things. "Hey, Sunny," I say.

"What?"

"How many tributes are still alive?"

"Ten, I think. There's us three, the girl from three, the boy from five, the girl from six, the girl from seven, the girl from nine, the boy from twelve, and one more; I can't remember who."

"Oh yeah," I say. "She was the one who hung out with those brainwashed tributes and her district partner."

"Yeah," Sunny replies. "She must have ditched them, considering that they're all dead, and she's still alive."

Shadow's loud snores remind us that w e should probably go to bed. Who knows what day four will bring?

_**Deaths:**_

**Jackie Chio (D4 M 18)**

Killed by head Gamemaker Futro Barnabash and the arena. He was crushed by a robotic arm.

**Herbert Cosine (D4 M 18)**

Killed by Masher. He was stabbed many times with a sword.

_**Tributes** **Left (10):**_

**Shadow**** L****ynch**** (D****1**** M****17)**

**Sunny Loffman (D1 F 14)**

**Masher Lynch (D2 M 18)**

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

**Julian Dynamic (D5 M 17)**

**Sydney During (D6 F 17)**

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

**Flower Guiana (D9 F 18)**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

**Tyson Harper (D12 M 16)**

**_Kills:_**

**Shadow: Lyandel, Cyan**

**Masher: Harris, Herbert**

**Mary Lay: Larry, Lauren**

**Tyson: Erika, Carolina**

**Sunny: Ray**

**Ray: Carlisle**

_**Allies:**_

**Shadow/Sunny/Masher**

**Mary Lay/Tyson**

**Sidney/Flower**

**Katie**

**Julian**

**Yvonne**

**I hoped you liked day three. Poor Jackie, killed by head Gamemaker Barnabash. His killing streak has continued! Who will the head Gamemaker strike next? Find out in day four! :-)**


	14. Chapter 14: Day Four

**Day Four:**

**Sunny Loffman (D1 F 14)**

I wake up early, before the sun has even peeked his head over the water. I stretch, and grab my sword and sleeping bag. I know what I must do today. I have to escape the careers, and get off of this island.

I know Masher is better friends with Shadow than I am; it doesn't take much to figure that out. That means, when Shadow wants to go tribute hunting, he will bring Masher along, and I will be left behind. Since Jackie, Phenomena, and Mary Kay have all died mysterious deaths when they were left alone on this island, I don't want to take any chances.

I grab as many bags and weapons as I can. Shadow and Masher will already be furious at me for leaving, so it doesn't really matter how mad I make them. I consider killing them, but I might accidentally wake them up, and that wouldn't work out very well. I end up grabbing three bags, ten throwing knives which I stuff into the bags, and my sword. Maybe I'll come back and take more if I find a new shelter soon.

I decide to swim over to the island with the big boulder in the center. I think Shadow and Masher will expect me to be on the cliff and waterfall island, because I'm not a bad climber, and I personally said that I thought the island was pretty when we were hunting over there. The big boulder in the center also might have some nice caves to camp in.

I step onto the island, and walk, wet and cold, towards the center of the island. I find a nice looking cave and climb into it. I start unpacking, when I hear a voice. "Who's there?" A boy and girl step out from further in the cave, and point their weapons at me.

"I'm Sunny Loffman, District 1," I say. "I ran away from the careers, and I'd love to be allies. I have supplies, and I'm not bad with a weapon."

The boy and girl look at each other, and then the boy speaks again. "Sure," he says. "I think you're worthy enough. So what do you have in those bags?"

**Masher Lynch (D2 M 18)**

I wake up, and notice something odd very quickly; Sunny's missing. I wonder what happened to her. Did she leave the island? Is she inside or on the other side of the cornucopia? Did she mysteriously disappear and die like Phenomena, Mary Kay, and Jackie did? I search the island and don't find any trace of Sunny. Then I notice that some of the supplies are gone. Drat, she probably ran away.

I think I know why she ran away; Shadow. Why couldn't she have taken me with her? Shadow has been annoying the crap out of everyone; especially me. I have been trying to act nice to him though, because he's definitely capable of killing me. I need to stay with Shadow, though, because I need all the supplies and stuff on this island. I would absolutely leave Shadow if there weren't all these supplies on this island.

I walk back over to my sleeping bag, and sit down on it. Shadow wakes up and looks around, and then at me. "Where's Sunny?" he asks.

"No idea," I reply.

Then, a crazed smile forms on his face. It only stays for a second, and then it goes away, and is replaced by a straight face. I wonder what that was all about. I guess it's just the fact that Shadow is a crazed maniac. "So, do you want to go tribute hunting," I ask Shadow.

"Uhh, not today," he says. "We'd have to leave all of the supplies behind. I think it's best to let the tributes just kill themselves."

I suppose that isn't completely ridiculous. "Okay," I say. This day is going to be really boring.

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

Flower and I are now completely out of food. After that boy and girl chased us, yesterday, we stayed in this tree the whole night, just in case they were near. Now we really need some food, so we climb out of the tree, and search for some.

We look around the jungle floor for some edible berries. In a little bit, we find some hsu berries, and fill up our bag with them. We are about to turn around, when we spot a girl, her throwing knives in her hand. At first I think it's the girl who killed Lauren, but then I realize it's a different girl; the one from District 10 if I'm not mistaken.

"No!" I shout as she aims her knife. "We want to be allies! We want to be allies!"

The girl doesn't listen. She aims for Flower, and fires the knife. Flower screams, and ducks. The knife barely misses her. We stand up and start running. I hear two sets of feet running behind me. I don't have to turn around to check when I hear a cannon. Now there's only one set of feet behind me. I run and run, and hear two throwing knives whiz by my ear. Then, I hear the footprints fade, and I look back, still running. It seems that the girl is out of weapons. She has stopped, and she is looking inside her bag.

I keep running for a little while, just in case she does find a weapon in her bag. Finally, I climb up a tree with my bag, my bow, and my five arrows. I open the bag, and see it is the food bag. Flower had the other ones, so know I'm stuck with nothing but some hsu berries for supplies.

**Yvonne Star (D10 F 18)**

Oh my gosh. I just killed that girl. I walk over, and see her lying on the ground with the throwing knife in the back of her skull. Blood is flowing onto the ground, from her head. I can't believe I just killed her. This is the first time I've killed a tribute with a weapon in either of the Games I competed in. Last time, I got poison at the feast, and I fed it to my "ally" who was annoying the heck out of me. He instantly died.

I notice the girl has two bags. I might as well take them and see what's in them. I open the first one to find a bunch of first aid stuff. I open the second one, and find a bunch of random stuff, such as night vision goggles, a sword, and a black container. I open up the container and sniff it. It's poison. This is great. Poison was my best weapon last time. I killed the one boy with it, and I almost killed a girl, but she got too suspicious and ran away. Between this and my own stash, I think I can survive for a while.

A hovercraft finally flies above me, and picks up the girl. I decide I'd better move on, so I walk in no particular direction, and climb a tree. I find a sturdy branch, and rest. I just had a pretty exciting experience with those girls, so I think it's best to take a nap. I lay down, and fall asleep.

**Julian Dynamic (D5 M 17)**

I haven't been doing well since Marcabeth died on day two. I have no bags, so I had to weave some twigs and plants together to make a basket. It's still a pretty small basket, so it can only hold about enough berries for one day.

The only other think I have on me is a rock that I attached to a small piece of a branch. It's only about a foot long, so it won't kill anyone, but it might throw them off for a few seconds so that I can run away.

Another thing that I'm having trouble with is water. I don't have any sort of container to hold any water in. That's why I decided to set up my camp, in a bush, really close to the water. Whenever I need any water, I just walk over to the edge of the big lake and take a sip.

I haven't seen any action from here. I don't really know much about who's left in the arena, or where anyone is. The only tribute I've seen since Marcabeth died is the girl from District 10. She walked by earlier, looking for food. I think there's about ten or eleven tributes left. I know that the three careers, the girl from ten, and the girl from three are still alive, but besides that, I don't know.

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

Last night, I climbed back up to my original spot on the top of the cliff. I don't think those careers will expect me to be here. And besides, I like my spot on the top of the cliff better. It's harder to get to, it has a good amount of food, and I can see a lot of what's happening from up here.

Earlier today, I saw the girl from District 1 leave the career island. She must have left because of how stupid they are. The only tributes who seem to like the career pack, are the ones who are in it, and I guess that girl didn't even like them then. The careers must be harsh this year. Some other action I saw today took place on the jungle island. I saw the boy from five walk to the edge to get water, and I saw the girl from District 10 walk to get water too. Besides that, I don't know where anyone is. It seems like most tributes are on the jungle island, and I think I'm the only one on this island. I also know that the girl who left the careers went to the island with the giant boulder, and the other two careers are on the cornucopia island. That just leaves the girl from six, the girl from seven, the girl from nine, and the boy from twelve. I wonder where those four are.

I also know that one tribute died today. I heard the cannon blast around noon. My question is answered a few minutes later, when the sun sets and the Panem Anthem plays. Today, the girl from nine died. It's a shame, I thought she was pretty good. She's a very short yet strong eighteen year old. Well, I suppose I'd better go to bed. I roll up into my sleeping bag, and fall asleep.

_**Deaths:**_

**Flower Guiana (D9 F 18)**

Killed by Yvonne. She was hit in the head with a throwing knife.

_**Tributes Left (9):**_

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

**Sunny Loffman (D1 F 14)**

**Masher Lynch (D2 M 18)**

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

**Julian Dynamic (D5 M 17)**

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

**Tyson Harper (D12 M 16)**

_**Kills:**_

**Shadow: Lyandel, Cyan**

**Masher: Harris, Herbert**

**Mary Lay: Larry, Lauren**

**Tyson: Erika, Carolina**

**Yvonne: Flower**

**Ray: Carlisle**

**Sunny: Ray**

_**Allies:**_

**Sunny/Mary Lay/Tyson**

**Shadow/Masher**

**Yvonne**

**Sidney**

**Julian**

**Katie**

**Thanks so much for reading. We're down to the final nine, so vote in the poll on my profile to help your favorite tributes. :-)**


	15. Chapter 15: Day Five

**Day Five:**

**Tyson Harper (D12 M 16)**

I'm glad that that District 1 girl, Sunny, joined us yesterday. She seemed very strong and smart during training. She also has a lot of supplies. Now, we have ten bags, two bows, two dozen arrows, two spears, ten throwing knives, and a sword. We've got plenty of food, plenty of supplies, plenty of first aid kits, and plenty of other stuff. We could survive for half a week with all this food and water.

We decide to go tribute hunting today. Because we have so much supplies, it seems stupid to gather food and water today. It also gets boring, just sitting around all day at our camp. It's more exciting to actually get out there and fight.

After we eat a nice breakfast of dried fruit, we decide to go to the jungle island today. We've all seen the most people at the jungle island, so it makes sense go go there. We all grab a weapon; I grab my spear, Mary Lay grabs her bow and a dozen arrows, and Sunny grabs a sword she brought over. We walk out of the cave, and head for the edge of the island. We climb into the lake, and swim over to the jungle island. This will be a fun day of tribute hunting.

I try to figure out, in my mind, who might be hiding here. Besides us and the careers, there are four tributes who might be on this island. The girl from six is probably here. We killed two of her friends two or three days ago. I don't know where the girl from three, the girl from ten, and the boy from five are, because I haven't seen any of them. I decide to ask Sunny, she might know. "Sunny," I say. "Do you know where the girl from three, the boy from five, and the girl from ten are?"

"The girl from District 3 is on the island with the waterfall, but I don't know about the other two."

"Okay," I say. Hopefully, the other two are on the jungle island.

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

I wake up, and stretch out in my sleeping bag. What day is it today? I count the days in my head, and realize that it's day five. I hope these Games hurry up and finish soon. I'm ready to live in Victor's Village, with the many other District 1 tributes who have won the Hunger Games.

Masher wakes up next to me. "So what do you think?" he asks. "Should we go hunting today, or stay back?"

I think this over for a while. If we stayed back, we would have a really boring day. If we went tribute hunting, we could risk losing our supplies. We only have about ten full bags left. "You know what?" I say. "I have a good idea."

"What's your good idea?"

"How about we stay on this island during the day to protect our supplies, and then go hunting at night, while everyone's asleep?"

"Yeah," Masher says. "That's a brilliant idea." I know it is.

Now, I have to decide what I'm going to do today. Yesterday, we organized supplies. We put all the important supplies, such as food, water, and first aid kits in bags near our sleeping bags. Then, we took all the left over empty bags, and filled them with two sleeping bags each, so it would look like they had lots of supplies in them. That was another little brilliant plan I came up with.

Since we have nothing to do, we decide to just talk and tell each other stories from our childhoods. We talk about our families, our friends, our training for the Games, our time in the Games, and much more. It passes the time well, actually. This isn't as boring as I thought it would be.

At around noon, we have lunch, and then decide to nap until later. It's best if we're well rested for late night tribute hunting tonight. It's also another great way to pass time. We decide to nap in the cornucopia, because it will be re shaded and darker in there. We climb into the cornucopia, and let sleep overcome us.

**Julian Dynamic (D5 M 17)**

I walk to the edge of the lake for a sip of water. I kneel down, and cup my hands. I place my hands in the water, and then bring them up to my lips. Ahhh, that feels good. When I stand up, I notice something peculiar about the career island; none of the careers are there. Usually, they leave at least one behind to guard the stuff. This is my chance. I have literally no supplies. If I steal a bag or two from the careers, I have a much better chance of surviving.

I dive into the water, and swim towards the career island. I step onto the island, and drip water onto the grass. The all either in the cornucopia, or in a pile on the outside. I grab a bag on the outside, and then walk to the mouth of the cornucopia. I grab a bag from there, and then realize something that makes every part of my body tremble in fear; the careers are sleeping inside the cornucopia!

I take very slow and silent steps backwards, towards the edge of the island. I don't look where my feet are going, which I guess isn't pretty smart. I step on a pile of throwing knives that are sticking out, blade up, from the ground. I howl really loudly in pain. Now I have done it. The careers wake up, and catch me, red handed, stealing their stuff.

"Get him!" one of the careers shout. They race out of the cornucopia as I race for the water. However, they are much faster than me. The one from District 1 grabs me. "Were you stealing our stuff?" he asks.

"Ummm, yes," I say.

"Well, do you know what we do to theifs?"

"Shadow," the other boy says before I can reply. "I have an idea. We can make this boy guard our food so that we can go hunting."

"Yeah, I guess so," Shadow answers. "But what if he takes the supplies and runs off?"

"Don't worry. I have a plan that will allow him to still parcially protect the fort, but not be able to run away." The District 2 boy picks up a sword, and brings it down hard on my leg. I gasp and scream in pain, but the boy shows no mercy. "There we go," the boy says. "He still has one good leg to fight on so he can walk around, but he'll drown if he tries to swim off the island."

Shadow seems satisfied. "Okay," he says to the boy. Now, he turns to me. "So are you going to protect our supplies?" he asks.

I guess I don't really have a choice. "Okay," I say.

"So do you swear to protect it?"

"I swear," I say. I wonder if I'll break this promise later. The District 2 boy was right in saying that I still can hop around on one foot, and I could always use a long distance weapon, such as a bow and arrow or throwing knives. I never tried either of them at training. The boys walk me over to the mouth of the cornucopia. They take all the bags that are thrown around the island, and put them in the cornucopia. They set throwing knives and a bow and arrow next to me, and disappear into the water.

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

I have eaten all the hsu berries I had, and now all I have is a bow and five arrows. My stomach rumbles, and I know I need something to eat and something to drink. I climb down from the tree, and walk towards the lake. Since I have nothing to put the water in, I cup some into my hands and take a few sips. When I'm satisfied, I turn away from the water, and head back into the rainforest in search of food.

After about an hour, I have no luck in finding food. My stomach rumbles again, and I know I need to find some. Back at District 6, my family was an average family in terms of money. We had enough money to put substantial food on the table three times a day. We weren't as rich as most of the people in District 1, but at least we weren't as poor as the average District 12 family. I continue to look as hard as I can for at least a hint of food.

After a few more minutes of trudging, I finally find a small bit of keeter, an herb that has high healing power in many medicane. I grab a few handfulls of the leaves, and put them in my bag. However, I know I need more food than this. This will probably last me about a meal, and I need more than one meal's worth of food if I want to survive.

I continue searching until night falls, and only collect a few more handfuls of keeter. I think it's best if I travel to a different island. This island seems heavily inhabited, so that's probably why food is so scarce. Maybe I'll go to the midsized forest one. I haven't seen any tributes on it. I can't imagine why because that seems like the landscape that most tributes would be familiar with. I climb into a nearby, sturdy tree, and eat about half of the keeter leaves. Finally the Panem Anthem plays. No tributes have died today. I finally close my eyes and fall asleep.

_**No Deaths**_

_**Tributes Left (9):**_

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

**Sunny Loffman (D1 F 14)**

**Masher Lynch (D2 M 18)**

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

**Julian Dynamic (D5 M 17)**

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

**Tyson Harper (D12 M 16)**

_**Kills:**_

**Shadow: **Lyandel, Cyan

**Masher: **Harris, Herbert

**Mary Lay: **Lauren, Larry

**Tyson:** Carolina, Erika

**Yvonne: **Flower

**Ray: **Carlisle

**Sunny: **Ray

_**Allies:**_

**Shadow/Masher/Julian**

**Sunny/Mary Lay/Tyson**

**Katie**

**Yvonne**

**Sidney**

**Nobody died this chapter because no body voted in my poll. I won't post my next chapter until a few people vote; at least five. Please vote if you want your favorite tribute to live. Thanks :-)**


	16. Chapter 16: Day Six

**Day 6:**

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

The sound of trumpets blasts me awake. Tyson, Sunny, and I stand up and walk out of the cave to hear the announcement. "Attention, remaining tributes of the 250th Hunger Games, congratulations for making it to the final nine. You all need something badly badly to survive. I invite you all to a feast at midnight tonight. In order to be fair to all the tributes, the feast Will be held on the forest island. There's a clearing in the center where the feast will take place. Please consider coming. It could determine if you survive or not." Trumpets blare again, and the sounds of the forest return.

"So what do you think?" I ask. "Should we go. We definately have enough food and supplies." I gesture to the ten bags, lying in the corner of the cave.

"Well," says Sunny. "We certainly don't need any supplies, but it could be a good way to get rid of some tributes."

"She's got a point," Tyson says. "We could hide behind the trees, and shoot at any tributes who come."

"I guess you're right," I say. "So when do you think we should head over?"

"How about we eat breakfast and head over now," Tyson says. "That way, we can find a good spot to hide and jump out. We also don't know how long it will take us to find the clearing."

"Yeah, I guess that sounds good," I say. "Now let's have some breakfast."

We walk over and open some of the bags. We're surprised to find no food in the first five bags. "That's funny," Tyson says. "I could have sworn that these bags had food in them."

"Me too," I say. We open up the remaining five bags. All we find is some blueberries we found a few days ago. Why do we still have blueberries, but none of the food in the bags at the bloodbath? Then it hits me. "They got rid of all the food gotten from the bloodbath, but not the food naturally found in the arena, so that more people come to the feast," I say.

"Well, I guess we should probably look for some food before we head over," Sunny says.

"Yeah," I say. "Let's go."

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

"So, should we go?" Masher asks.

"I guess so," I reply. "Since we have lots of supplies, we'll probably get something really good. Sometimes, they give out full length body armor, delicious three course meals, or expensive medicine, just in case. One year, they gave a girl a small hovercraft, that was just big enough to hold her weight. She ended up winning because none of the tributes could reach her. It would be awesome to get a hovercraft. Maybe Dad..." I clamp my hand over my mouth. I can't let stuff like that slip out of my mouth. I cough, and then say, "I mean, maybe the Gamemakers are feeling generous this year."

Masher looks at me with a suspicious look in his eyes, but it fades away in a few seconds. "Yeah," he says. "Maybe they're feeling generous."

I turn to that District 5 boy, who's sitting in the cornucopia. "Hey, boy," I say. "When we're gone, you're going to watch our stuff here. Got it?"

"Yep," he says. It's not like he has a choice.

I'm kind of mad that the feast is on the forest island. Usually, the feast is at the cornucopia. I guess all of the other Gamemakers wanted none of the tributes to have an 'unfair advantage.' Oh well. I guess I can live with the forest feast. And besides, I'm expecting a good gift from my dad. I hope he got the hint about the hovercraft. I'd love to have a mini hovercraft.

I'm kind of getting hungry, so I open up a bag, and search around for food. I find no food, so I open another bag, and fish around this one. No food is in this bag either. I open a few more bags, and still don't discover any food. What happened to it? Then I realize the culprit; that District 5 boy. I run over to him, and grab him by the hood of his jacket. "What happened to our food?" I bellow. "Answer me!"

"I swear, I don't know!" he shouts with a worried look on his face. "I swear!"

"Liar!" I shout in his face. "Where is our food?"

"I swear, I don't know!" he shouts. "I have no idea what happened to your food!"

"Liar!" I shout again. I grab my spear, and thrust it into his stomach. He screams in pain, and I remove the spear. Then I throw it down again; this time, at his heart. His screams are silenced, and a cannon sounds. I kick the body into the water.

"So now what do we do?" Masher asks. "How can we protect our stuff?"

"I don't know," I say. As if on cue, a parachute drops from the sky. I catch it, and find a bundle of ropes and wires in the basket. I show it to Masher. "Any idea what this is?"

"Yeah," he says, and he grabs the basket. "We worked on these types of traps when I trained for the sixth quarter quell. He wraps and winds the ropes and wires around the cornucopia, and comes back to me. "If a tribute walks by, the sensor will pick then up, and they'll become trapped in this net. Then, when we come back, all we do is have to run a weapons through them, and they're dead.

"Okay," I say. "Now let's go hunt for some food before the feast."

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

I can't wait to go to the feast tonight. I am in need of water, food, and weapons. All I have is a sleeping bag, a first aid kit, a handful of hsu berries, and two throwing knives that I used to kill that girl a day or two ago. It's probably more than some tributes have, but I'm going to need more if I want to survive.

I need to collect some food and water so that I'm full of energy for the feast. I spot a furry animal crawling slowly along the ground. I shoot a knife at it, and hit it in the head. I walk over to it, pull pull out the knife, and examine it. It looks a bit like a rabbit, but with black fur, small ears, and a long white tail. I guess it's probably safe to eat. I throw it in my bag. I'll decide how to cook it later. I don't really want to risk starting a fire.

Now, I need to get some water. I head for the lake/sea thing, because that's the only place I've seen water at. I find the lake within about an hour, and then cup my hands and take a sick. Since my body's covered in mud and grime, I decide to wash up a bit. I take off all my clothes except for my underclothes, and dive in. I rub all the mud and dirt off my body. This takes a while, because I'm really dirty. I run my hands through my hair, trying to wash all the grime out of it. After a few minutes, I'm satisfied, so I climb out of the lake and put my clothes back on. I gather my stuff, and find a good place to cook my animal.

I guess I kind of have to start a fire, because I can't think of a different way the food. However, I will be cautious with my fire, and keep it small. I gather some branches and twigs, and put them in a pile a few yards into the jungle. Now, I need to figure out a way to start a fire. I try rubbing some of the branches together to make a spark. It doesn't work. I throw one of my knives to the ground in frustration. The knife hits a rock and creates a spark. Well, I guess frustration dies really lead to good ideas. I grab the knife, and whack it on the rock a few times. Finally, the rock creates a big enough spark to fuel the fire. As the fire warms up, I skin the animal. I make a spit to cook it on, and then I sit back and watch my animal cook. In half an hour, I'm rewarded with delicious meat; the first I've had since I was put into the arena a few days ago. I eat about half of the animal, and decide to save the rest for later tonight. I climb up into a tree, and take a nap so that I'm well rested for tonight.

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

I have decided not to go to the feast tonight. I know that most, if not all, of the tributes are bigger, stronger, and more skilled than I am. If I go to the feast, I will be competing with those people, and I don't want to risk my life just for supplies. I have plenty enough food and water up here. There's a raspberry bush and a bunch of tryyne plants (a type of herb) up on top of this cliff. There's also the stream on the top of this cliff, that eventually leads to the waterfall.

Almost all the raspberries and tryyne has been eaten, so I decide to walk along the top of the cliff to find some more.I can't really find any more food up here; just a couple more tryyne plants. I decide to climb down the side of the cliff to look for some plants to eat.

When I've reached the bottom of the cliff, I immediately look for some food. I spot a bush of what looks like strawberries. I pick one of the berries off to take a bite. Then I realize that these are critten berries, not succulent strawberries. _Nice try, Gamemakers. _If only I could say this out loud without dying a painful death. I continue on, and find a patch of real strawberries. I eat a bunch, and then grab as much as my pockets can carry. I didn't get the luxury of getting a bag at the bloodbath.

I decide it's about time to go to bed. I find the cliff, and then climb back up to my camp. I lie down, and prepare to fall asleep. Then, the Panem Anthem plays, and the night sky reveals the face of the boy from District 5. The anthem stops, and I fall asleep, knowing that I will probably be awoken in the middle of the night by cannon blasts from the feast.

_**Deaths:**_

**Julian Dynamic (D5 M 17)**

Killed by Shadow. A spear was run though his stomach and neck.

**_Remaining Tributes (8):_**

**Shadow Lynch (D1 M 17)**

**Sunny Loffman (D1 F 14)**

**Masher Lynch (D2 M 18)**

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

**Tyson Harper (D12 M 16)**

**_Kills:_**

**Shadow: **Lyandel, Cyan, Julian

**Masher: **Harris, Herbert

**Mary Lay: **Lauren, Larry

**Yvonne: **Flower

**Tyson: **Carolina, Erika

**Ray: **Carlisle

**Sunny: **Ray

_**Allies:**_

**Sunny/Mary Lay/Tyson**

**Shadow/Masher**

**Katie**

**Sidney**

**Yvonne**

**Okay, I lied, I only got three votes in my poll, so I had another slow day and only killed off Julian. He was destined to die, though, with his hurt leg. But I'm going away for Memorial Day weekend, so I need to know who to kill off in the feast. Now please vote in my poll before Monday evening! If one of the tributes doesn't get any votes, they may not survive the feast, so go vote right now, for the sake of your favorite tribute! :-)**


	17. Chapter 17: The Feast

**All the tributes who got a vote in my poll were granted immunity for this chapter. The rest... well, you'll see.**

**The Feast (Day 6 11:30 p.m.)**

**Sunny Loffman (D1 F 14)**

Mary Lay, Tyson, and I have been hidden behind trees on the edge of the clearing for probably about two hours now. We searched for food during the afternoon, and headed over to this island around an hour before the sun set. Then we found the clearing, and we picked out a good spot on the edge to hide and wait to pick off tributes. Now, we're waiting for this stupid feast to start. It's got to be almost midnight.

I wonder who will show up at this feast. I'm almost confident that Shadow and Masher will show up. However, I'm not certain about the others. I don't know much about them. I remember the girl from three was really tiny and young, so I don't think she'd be one to get herself caught up in a feast. The girls from Districts 6 and 10 both were older and stronger, but I don't know much about them. I hope a lot of tributes will come so that the three of us can pick them off.

The three of us made sure we were well prepared for this before we came. Mary Lay has a bow and a full dozen arrows. Tyson has two spears, just in case he needs an extra. I have a sword for hand to hand combat, and a bow and six arrows for long distance combat. I think we have enough weapons to last the feast. I hope it starts soon, because I'm getting very anxious.

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

I step out of the water and onto the island. While all the tributes battle it out at the feast, I have come up with a better plan. My plan in definately less dangerous than going to a stupid feast, and it is probably more beneficial. Last time, I went to the feast and was nearly killed. I won't make that mistake again. Instead, I am going to steal some supplies from the carrers.

I wring out my soaking wet clothes, and trudge to the cornucopia, where a mountain of supplies piles high. I can't imagine how much food, first aid kits, and other helpful supplies lie in that pile. I walk over to the cornucopia in my soaking wet clothes. As soon as I step into the mouth, I am suddenly captured by a net that falls on top of me!

Wow, the carrers are really stupid. This net is made of rope, which means it can easily be cut by something, sharp, and the pile of weapons and supplies is right next to me. I reach my hand over to the pile, and wrap my fingers around the handle of a throwing knife. I grasp it hard, and start cutting at the rope with it. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth I swing the knife. I cut at a few strands of rope until I have cut a big enough hole for me to slip out through. I climb out, grab three bags and ten throwing knives, and dive back into the water towards the jungle island.

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

I stand behind the three, waiting for the feast to begin. I have have been waiting so long for these supplies, and I can't wait any longer. The anxiety is building up inside of me. What if I get caught? What if I end up dying? I brush these thoughts away, and focus at the task at hand; grabbing my bag.

I already have my strategy planned out. As soon as I see the table with the bags shoot out from the ground, I will sprint out, grab my bag, and dart off before anyone can hit me with a weapon. I have always been a fast sprinter. I was the fastest girl in my grade when we did the one hundred meter dash at school. I hope that will be enough to get me out of this feast alive. I am stronger, mentally and physically, than I was in my last Games.

Just when I think I can't stand waiting any longer, I see movement in the grass in the middle of the clearing. A portion of the grass slides out , and a table pops up where the grass was. The table has eight bags on it, and all the bags have a label; D1 F, D1 M, D2, D3, D6, D7, D10, and D12. The grass slides back in place, and I take off.

**Masher Lynch (D2 M 18)**

A girl, who I think is from District 10, shoots out into the clearing. She runs to the center and grabs her bag. She turns around and runs back where she came from. An arrow shoots out at her, but she ducks it and keeps running. Another arrow shoots out at her, and this one hits her left arm. She pulls it out, despite the blood, runs out of the clearing, and disappears into the foliage.

I guess that was a good strategy. There's usually one tribute every year who runs out before the fighting begins. I guess it works if you're just trying to get out of the feast alive. But, Shadow and I are planning to kill some tributes, so that's not really the right strategy for us.

Shadow motions for me. "Hey," he whispers. "Let's go. If we hurry, we can steal the other bags as well as our own."

"Okay," I say. "Let's go."

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

The pair of career boys run out into the clearing. Sunny and I seize our chance, just as we did when the girl ran out a second ago. We each take our bow and an arrow, and shoot at the boys. Both arrows miss. We reload, and shoot again. This time, mine hits one of the boys, who I think is from District 1, in the right leg. He seems pretty unfazed by the arrow. He just pulls it out of his leg and limps to the table with the other boy.

"We've got to get out there," Tyson says. "They're going to steal our bags."

"Agreed," I say, and Sunny nods. We run out at the two careers. They spot us once they've reached the table. I load my bow again, and shoot. They duck, and the arrow skins the District 2 boy's hair. Now, Tyson takes action. He runs closer to the careers, and then throws one of the spears at them. They easily dodge it, and start grabbing some bags, as they dodge my and Sunny's arrows.

Once they've grabbed all seven remaining bags, they start attacking. They run over to us, and aim their weapons. The District 1 boy, who I hit with the arrow, attacks Tyson with his spear. The District 2 boy runs over to face Sunny and I. I shoot arrow at him, and Sunny jabs her sword at him. He dodges both, and pulls out his sword. He and Sunny start sword fighting. I watch as their swords clash and hit each other. They always seem to know each other's next move, probably from training together in the training room. I suddenly remember that I am still here, so I load my bow with an arrow, an shoot. The arrow flies at the boy, and hits him in the stomach.

"Nice one, Mary Lay," Sunny says. In the second she looks at me to congratulate me, the District 2 boy strikes at Sunny. She doesn't see him coming, and takes a hit to the stomach. She screams and falls to the ground. The boy strikes again and again, cutting her up. Finally, she stops screaming, and a cannon booms in the distance.

The District 2 boy now turns to me. I have wounded him with the arrow in the stomach, but he's much stronger with me. I try to shoot an arrow at him, but he grabs the bow out of my hands, and snaps it. He then turns on me. He grabs the collar of my jacket, and holds me up in the air. He grabs his sword, and lifts it up to my face. "Time to die, little girl," he says. He raises the sword to my face, and gets ready to puncture my skin.

All of a sudden, the boy gets a dazed look on his face. A cannon fires, and the boy falls to the ground, revealing Tyson, with a bloody spear in his hand. "Thanks, Tyson," I say. "What happened to the other boy?"

"He scampered when I knocked the spear out of his hand. Now let's grab those bags and go back."

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

I climb on shore, drop the bags, and limp towards the cornucopia. I hope that cannon wasn't for Masher. If he doesn't come back, I have this whole island to contol by myself, and I don't want that. I lie down on my sleeping bag, and examine my leg. There's a big hole in it, about half the size of my fist. Now would be a great time for some medicine.

I decide to walk over to the cornucopia to grab a first aid kit to bandage my leg up. I limp over, and only now do I realize that that trap Masher set has been activated, but broken out of. It looks like the person who got captured used a knife to cut their way out of the rope. I run over, in my mind, the list of people who could have broken in. The only two who weren't at the feast were the girl from three and the girl from six. My guess is it was one of those two, because there's no way one of the other tributes could have ran over so fast. Well, I'll just have to kill whoever stole from me later.

I remember that I'm supposed to be getting a first aid kit, so I grab four bags, limp back to my sleeping bag, and hope that there's a first aid kit in one of them. In the second bag I open, I find one. I take out a cleansing wipe, and rub my wound. It stings, but I will not show any pain to the audience. Then, I place some gauze over it, and wrap medical tape around the gauze so that it stays in place. Then I close up the first aid kit, throw it back in the bag, and toss the bags back into the pile in the cornucopia.

I guess now's a good time to open up the bags that I got at the feast. I limp over to the four bags I picked up. I managed to get my hands on four bags; Sunny's, mine, Masher's, and the District 3 girl's. I walk back to my sleeping bag, and open up Sunny's bag. Inside I find an expensive looking sword. I examine it, and notice a small button on the handle. I press it, and a bigger, sharper, blade pops out. I press it again, and a very tiny blade pops out. I keep pressing the blade, and count five different types of blades. I'm so glad that Sunny didn't get her hands on this. I open up Masher's bag and find an identical sword.

Next, I open up the girl from District 3's bag. Inside, I find just a regular throwing knife. Wow, I wonder why her gift is so plain and simple. Maybe it's because she has nothing, and even a small throwing would help her out. Well, I guess it doesn't matter now. I chuck it into the pile of supplies in the cornucopia.

I saved my bag for last on purpose. 'Save the best for last,' as I heard my stylist say as he was designing my outfits. I open it up to find a golden spear. I wonder of it's made out of real gold. I search for a button, and find one on the handle. I press it, and the tip of the spear turns black. I hold the spear tip up to my nose and sniff it. Awesome, a poison spear. I press the button again, hoping for another special blade, bit the poison just disappears, and the spear is back to normal. I guess I got a good weapon, as weapons go. I was hoping for more of a variety, though, like how the swords had the five different blades.

**Sidney During (D1 F 17)**

I am so mad and so hungry. When I got back to the jungle island a few minutes ago, I opened up the three bags, and none of them had food in them. That's pretty surprising. Usually, every bag has some sort of food in it. I can't believe all three bags had no food. Maybe the careers put all the food into one or two bags. Maybe they already ate it all. Either way, I am still very hungry, and I need to find food fast.

I manage to compile all the supplies into two bags. Then I set off to find some food. My stomach won't be able to manage much longer with no food. I walk around the island, hoping for even a hint of edible plants. I'm starving so much, that I rip some bark off of a tree and stuff it in my mouth. It tastes horrible.

I can't believe my mentor hasn't sent me any food. I mean, I'm in the final six, I have to have at least a sponsor or two. Maybe she isn't getting the message. "Food," I mumble. I'm hoping for a parachute to fall, but nothing happens. I continue to helplessly walk around the jungle. I'm not rewarded with any sort of plant. I need food fast.

**Tyson Harper (D12 M 16)**

Mary Lay and I walk into the cave, and sit down on our sleeping bags. I think the feast went pretty well. We both made it back with only minor scratches. Mary Lay has a small cut on her forehead from where the District 1 boy skimmed her face with a sword, and I have a small wound on my left arm from where the District 1 boy hit me with his spear. It wasn't a deep cut, though, so I'm fine, and so is Mary Lay.

"Should we open the bags now?" Mary Lay asks.

"Sure," I reply. By some good stroke of luck, the District 2 boy had grabbed our bags and the District 6 girl's bag. When he died, we collected our bags and the District 6 girl's bag as well. We open up the District 6 girl's bag first. Inside, we find a throwing knife. There's a little button on the handle. When I push it, a bag of beef jerky shoots out of the tip of the knife. I push it again, and a can of chicken noodle soup shoots out. "Cool, it shoots out food," I say. I wonder if there's unlimited food in there.

Next, we open up Mary Lay's bag. Inside, we find a bow with a sheath of arrows split into three sections. The section on the right holds normal arrows, the section in the middle holds fire tipped arrows, and the section on the left holds explosive arrows. We can tell which kind of arrows they each are because of the little labels on the side. Mary Lay seems very impressed by this weapon.

I open up my bag, and find a spear. There's little button on the handle, so I press it, and the tip of the spear becomes coated in black. "That's poison," Mary Lay says. I suppose this is a pretty good weapon. All I have to do is make contact with someone, and boom, they're dead. Well, I guess Mary Lay and I should probably go to bed. "I'll take first watch," Mary Lay says. "Since the sun will be rising soon, it's best if someone watches out for other tributes."

"Good idea," I say. "Thanks. Wake me up in a few hours so that I can watch."

_**Deaths:**_

**Sunny Loffman (D1 F 14)**

Killed by Masher. She was sliced many times with a sword.

**Masher Lynch (D2 M 18)**

Killed by Tyson. He took a spear to the back.

_**Remaining Tributes (6):**_

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

**Tyson Harper (D12 M 16)**

_**Kills:**_

**Shadow: **Lyandel, Cyan, Julian

**Tyson: **Carolina, Erika, Masher

**Masher: **Harris, Herbert, Sunny

**Mary Lay: **Lauren, Larry

**Sunny: **Ray

**Ray: **Carlisle

**Yvonne: **Flower

_**Allies:**_

**Mary Lay/Tyson**

**Shadow**

**Katie**

**Sidney**

**Yvonne**

**Well, there you go. Mary Lay, Katie, and Yvonne all got a vote in my poll, so the three of them survived this chapter. Next comes day 7! :-)**


	18. Chapter 18: Day Seven

**Day 7:**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

I wake up, stretch out my arms, and sit up on the branch. I look at the sun and decide it's almost noon. I guess I kind of slept in after the feast. Well, I'm glad I slept in, because I really have nothing to do today, thanks to the bag I got at the feast.

I opened my bag last night, so discover what looked like a normal throwing knife. A closer look, and I realized it wasn't just a normal throwing knife. When I pressed a button on the handle, an apple shot out of the tip. I ate the apple, and then pressed the button again. This time, a bag of dried fruit shot out. I ate half of the bag, and then decided to save the rest, just in case the food supply in the knife was limited. By then, my eyelids had begun to droop, so I fell asleep in my tree.

This knife brings my list of belongings to a bag of medical supplies, a bag of miscellaneous supplies, the bottle of poison, a sleeping bag, two regular throwing knives, and now this knife. I suppose these supplies will last me a while, though it depends how much food I can get out of that knife.

Now I realize that I'm in the final six, so my family has already been interviewed. I wonder who was there. My twin sister, Lissa, was probably interviewed, but who knows if my mom and dad are still alive. I wonder what what Lissa said. She's now sixty-eight years old. I hope she misses me, and I hope she wants me to come back home. I mean, we were best friends when we were teenagers. When my name was called at the reaping, Lissa almost volunteered for me, but I wouldn't let her. Now, I want to get back to her more than anything.

I realize now that I don't have any water. Since I don't have anything else to do, I decide to go to the lake to get some. I'm not that far away from the edge of the island, because I didn't travel too far inland after the feast last night. I climb down from the tree, and start my hike towards the water.

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

I wonder who died at the feast last night. A cannon blast woke me up at around midnight. In another minute or two, I heard another one. I didn't hear any more after that. I can't be sure that only two tributes died, though, because I could have slept through a cannon blast.

I think of the remaining tributes who could have died. There's the boy and girl from District 1, the boy from District 2, the girl from District 6, the girl from District 7, the girl from District 10, and the boy from District 12. I hope two of the careers died. I've always hated careers; the way they get lots of sponsors, the way they get all the leftover bloodbath supplies, the way they act all cocky, and much more. I hope they're dead so that I don't have to face them later.

I have decided to move to a different island today. Since the careers know where I am from when they chased me, if they're still alive, they'll most likely come to this island to look for me since so few people are left. I don't want to risk seeing them, and I'm in need of food, so I will soon travel to the forest island where the bloodbath was held. I haven't seen anyone go to that island (except for the bloodbath of course) so I think it's uninhabited.

I eat the last handful of raspberries that I have in my pocket, and then climb down the cliff on the side the forest island is. I reach the edge of the island, and then dive into the water. I swim as fast as I can to the island, just in case someone is watching. When I finally reach the island, I climb in shore, and then look back at the cliff. I will miss that island. It was a great spot, because I could see what was going on at the career island and the lake. But I know I must move on, so I turn back towards the forest island, and walk in.

I first travel to the clearing where the feast was held, just in case someone dropped something there. To my delight, I'm rewarded with a bag of dried fruit. It must have dropped out of someone's bag, and everyone was probably so distracted that no one noticed. I rip open the wrapper, and travel around the clearing to look for anything else that may have been dropped. I see two pools of dried blood on the ground where the two tributes must have died, but besides that the ground remains bare.

I have finished the dried fruit, so I drop the wrapper in the center of the clearing. If tribute spots it, they will probably just think someone dropped it at the feast. Now I set off in search of food. In a few minutes, I find a big bush of strawberries. I start stuffing them into my pockets. However, I don't have enough room in my pockets to hold all the berries, and all the trees here aren't big enough to climb into.

As if my mentor can read my mind, a parachute drops down. I open in up to find a simple drawstring bag. This is perfect. I empty my pockets and throw the berries in the bag. Then I roll up the parachute and put it my pocket. Then I pick all of the ripe strawberries, and put them in the bag. Now the bag is filled up about halfway with strawberries. I suppose that's enough for now. I snack on some strawberries as I look for a tall, sturdy tree to camp in. In a few minutes, I find a pretty good one, so I climb up the tree and rest on a thick branch.

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

I sit on my sleeping bag, wondering what to do. I don't want to go tribute hunting, because I have all this stuff to guard, and my leg still kind of hurts. But, I'm all out of food since that traitor from District 5 got rid of it. My stomach grumbles, and I think of a way to get food without leaving the island. Then I get an idea; fishing.

I scour the island for any trace of food that I can find. This is hard because we threw most of the food wrappers into the lake when we were done with them. I end up finding half of a dried pear, and a few beef jerky crumbs. I guess it will have to do. Then I grab a few throwing knives, and limp over to the edge of the water.

I first drop the piece of dried pear into the water. Nothing happens, so I take it out. Then I sprinkle in the beef jerky crumbs. No fish show up for the crumbs either. Since I can't really take the crumbs out of the water, I wait another minute, just in case, and then walk back to my sleeping bag.

I gnaw on the dried pear slice and wonder what to do. Thankfully, I don't have to make this decision, because a parachute drops from the sky. In it, I find two cans of soup, three packages of dried fruit, and two packages of crackers. Finally; I had begun to think my mentor didn't care about me anymore. I dig in to a can of soup and a package of crackers, and then sit around, bored.

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

Tyson and I have decided not to go tribute hunting today. We wanted to sleep in since we were up late. We woke up a little bit after noon, judging by the sun. We just decided to take a day to relax and catch up on what supplies we have. It makes the most sense, because, now that we're in the final six, it's going to become harder and harder to find tributes.

When we took inventory of the supplies, we stuffed all our leftover supplies into six bags. We still have lots of first aid supplies, food, water, sleeping bags, and other miscellaneous supplies. This will still last us a while. We're a bit short on food and water, but we'll go searching for food tomorrow.

I remember that we're in the final six, so the interviews probably already took place. My only family is my younger sister, Michelle, unless you count my grandfather, but he lost his mind years ago. Michelle lives in the community home, so I wonder if one of the mistresses at the home brought her, or if someone else brought her. Maybe she didn't even come. I also wonder if any of my friends came. I only really had one good friend, and her name was Chelsea. I hope they both came, because it's really embarrassing to have no friends or family. I hope I make it back to them soon.

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

I am in search of food again. Early this morning, I was lucky enough to get a sponsor gift; a few bags of food, but I ate most of it and I need more food. I am about to give up for the day, when I find a big bunch of keeter. I am so overjoyed. I pick as much keeter as I can, and stuff it into my bag. Now I have enough food for another day.

I eat a few handfuls of keeter as I look for a tree to sleep in. Keeter isn't the most tasty herb, but it fills my stomach up enough. I finally find a nice tree, and climb up. I sit down on a sturdy branch, and wait for the faces of the dead to shine in the sky. I'm very anxious to see who died at the feast.

At last, the Panem Anthem plays and reveals the faces of the dead. The first face is the girl from District 1. I thought she was pretty good, but I'm glad she's dead. The next face is the boy from District 2. Wow, that's shocking. He was an amazing athlete, and almost won the 8th Quarter Quell. I wonder how he died. But again, I'm glad he's dead, because that means I'm one step closer to victory.

_**No Deaths**_

_**Remaining**_** _Tribu_**_**tes**** (6):**_

**Shado****w**** Truly**** (D1****M**** 17)**

**Ka****tie**** Joe****l**** (****D3**** F**** 13)**

**Sidney Dur****ing**** (D6**** F**** 1****7)**

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

**Tyson Harper (D12 M 16)**

_**Kills:**_

**Shadow: **Lyandel, Cyan, Julian

**Tyson: **Carolina, Erika, Masher

**Masher: **Harris, Herbert, Sunny

**Mary Lay: **Lauren, Larry

**Yvonne: **Flower

**Ray: **Carlisle

**Sunny: **Ray

_**Allies:**_

**Mary Lay/Tyson**

**Shadow**

**Katie**

**Sidney**

**Yvonne**

**Another slow chapter today; we're getting down to the final few. Next chapter there will be deaths, I promise. :-)**


	19. Chapter 19: Day Eight

**Day Eight:**

**Tyson Harper (D12 M 16)**

Mary Lay and I woke up an hour ago, and we're going to get some water at the lake. Today, we're just going to gather food and water. When we reach the edge of the island, I look over at the cornucopia island. I notice that the only career there, the boy from District 1, is sleeping near the edge of the cornucopia. All of a sudden, I get a great idea. "Mary Lay" I say. "Do you think today's a good day to get rid of that boy?" I point to the career on the island.

"Yeah, I guess so," says Mary Lay. "We'd better get rid of him before he has the sense to move to a different island. He's so stupid, just lying out there in the open as he sleeps. Like, really; does he have any common sense?"

"Yeah," I say. "Let's attack him now. Even if he wakes up, it's two against one. We can overpower him any day. Good thing we brought weapons with us."

"Yes, good thing we did," Mary Lay says. We left our weapons we got at the feast in our cave, because we weren't planning to hunt and kill anyone, but I have a generic spear, and Mary Lay has her normal bow and arrows, so we're fine. I would be stupid to run back and get our feast weapons, because the boy might wake up soon.

We jump into the water with our weapons and the bag we were planning to fill with food. We take strong, fast strokes to the water, because it's best if we kill the boy before he wakes up. We finally reach the edge of the island, and climb up onto the grass. We draw our weapons, and tiptoe towards the sleeping boy. When we're only a few feet away from him, I look at Mary Lay and whisper, "I've got him." Mary Lay nods and steps back, and I continue to tiptoe towards him.

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

Tyson creeps up toward the career. I'm surprised at how slowly he walks, considering his body size. He's got to be almost two hundred pounds, and he's walking softer than a hunter stalking his prey. Right now, Tyson is the Hunter, and the boy is the prey. The prey will soon be dead.

Tyson reaches the boy, and slowly holds up his spear, ready to strike. I see the determination in his eyes. Just when he's about to strike, the career wakes up, and let's out a loud scream. Shocked, Tyson lets up and takes a step back. "Kill him, Tyson! Kill him!" I shout.

What happens next is unexpected. A big robotic arm drops out of the sky above Tyson. The arm smashes into Tyson. "No!" I shout. What the heck is happening? The arm descends again and again, knocking Tyson into the ground. "No!" I shout. This isn't fair! Finally, I hear a cannon blast, and I know it is all over for Tyson.

The arm drops again on bloody Tyson, but instead of smashing him into the ground again, it pushes him into the water. Then the arm rises and descends again, and I know its new target is me.

**Kyleila Fraxy (Gamemaker)**

Did Head Gamemaker Barnabash actually think we weren't suspicious? Once the third tribute disappeared off of the island, we had secret cameras installed to see what happens there every minute of every day. I also did some background checks on him, and realized the boy from District 1 was his son. Obviously, he's been altering the Games so that his son lives. Now, the robotic hand is ripping apart the boy from District 12. I need to act fast. I grab the intercom and shout into it, "I need five Peacekeepers here a.s.a.p.!"

Within a minute, there are five Peacekeepers in my controll room. I take a peek at the screen and see that the District 12 boy is being pushed into the ocean. I need to act fast, or that girl from District 7 will share he same fate. I quickly let the Peacekeeps know of the Head Gamemakers tricks. They nod, and the six of us burst into the Head Gamemaker's room.

The Peacekeepers pin him up against a wall, while I figure out how to shut off the robotic arm. The girl has been hit once with the robotic arm, and now it is descending again. I find the switch that shuts off the robotic arm, and I flick it off. Then, the Peacekeepers take Barnabash to a jail in the dungeons of the building. I call an emergency Gamemaker meeting.

"What should we do about that boy from District 1, Shadow?" one of the Gamemakers asks me. They have elected me as Head Gamemaker.

"Well," I say, "I don't think we should directly kill him, but we should probably torture him somehow. Anyone have any ideas?"

"I have one," another Gamemaker replies. "Scientists in the Capitol have recently developed a kind of sleep serum that not only makes the victim fall asleep, but gives them horrific nightmares. We can give it to the Shadow in the form of a sponsor gift, he can drink it, and then it can torture him to death."

"Brilliant," I say.

Another Gamemaker speaks up. "What about that girl from District 7, Mary Lay? She got hit once by the robotic arm. Should we send her medical supplies, or just let her be?"

"Let's send her medical supplies," I reply. "She just lost her ally and got hurt by something unfair. The least we can do is send her some in the form of a sponsor gift."

Another Gamemaker speaks up. "What's going to happen to Barnabash?"

"I heard a Peacekeeper saying that he's going to get the death penalty," I say. "Any other questions?" No one replies. "Okay," I say. "This meeting is over."

I have an avox pick up some of the nightmare serum and some expensive cut medicine. I pour the serum onto my lunch, and place it in a parachute. I also place the medicine into a parachute. Then I send the pair of them into the arena. It looks like the girl has hobbled off to her island. The boy is lying on his sleeping bag again. He probably didn't feel like chasing the girl because of his hurt leg.

The girl gets the parachute while she's on the shore of her island with the big boulder in the center. She looks overjoyed when she receives the medicine, and she rubs it over all of the cuts on her body. Her right arm looks particularly bad, but I can see the medicine starting to do it's job. She also has a nasty wound on her left leg, and her cheek, but besides that, she looks fine.

The District 1 boy receives the parachute, and immediately digs into the food. Within a minute, he has fallen asleep and is thrashing around. This will last for about half an hour, according to the scientists. He thrashed around, and occasionally screams things like, "Let me die! Let me die now!"

Half an hour later, he wakes up from his nightmares, screaming and crying. He walks over to the cornucopia, and picks up a spear. He grasps it in his hand, and runs it though his chest. He dies a minute later, so I send in a cannon blast and a hovercraft to pick up his body.

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

I collapse on the cave floor, and let the tears roll out. I am still kind of unsure of what just happened. Why did that robotic arm drop down? It's so unfair. Tyson didn't deserve to die. The Gamemakers just killed him off for no apparent reason! What did he ever do? And then, I can't believe it almost killed me. What did I do to upset the Gamemakers? I don't deserve to die.

I find myself missing Tyson a lot. He was my only real ally. Yes, Sunny did ally with us for two or three days, but I didn't care for us as much as I did for Tyson. Tyson was the only real friend I've had since my name was called at the reaping. We were planning to split up soon, though, because we didn't want it to come down to the two of us. This makes me feel a little bit better, so I wipe away my tears, but more still fall down.

I hear a cannon blast that sounds throughout the arena. I hope more than anything that that was for Shadow. That was certainly fishy how the robotic arm just went for Tyson and I, but not him. I guess I'll find out tonight. I reapply some more medicine, eat a can of soup, and fall asleep.

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

I wonder who those two cannon blast were for. The first one sounded out about four hours ago. The second one sounded out about three hours ago. I wonder what happened. Maybe a few tributes got in a fight, but one of them had a long, drawn out death. Maybe the Gamemakers had a natural disaster occur, like a fire or an earthquake. I guess I'll find out who died in about two hours, judging by the sun.

All I have done today is search for food. It was a pretty boring day, but I'll take boring days over me dying. I now have nearly filled the bag with all the berries that I could find. It's filled with a mixture of strawberries, raspberries, and tryyne. It is all I need to survive in these Games. I really don't need any sort of weapon. If they can't catch me, why would I need a weapon? I'm fine with just food, water, and a nice, sturdy tree.

Two hours later, the sun sets, and the Panem Anthem plays. The first face belongs to the boy from District 1. I almost scream out in happiness, but that probably wouldn't be too smart. I am so glad that jerk is dead. I wonder how he died. The next face is the boy from District 12. I don't really know how I feel about his death, because I didn't really know him that well. I guess I got to be happy that it's one more tribute down.

I realize now that all four remaining tribute are girls; there's me, the girl from District 6, the girl from District 7, and the girl from District 10. That's pretty surprising, because more boys than girls win the Hunger Games. I'm also surprised that none of the remaining tributes are careers. I don't remember ever seeing a time where all of the remaining four were not carrers. Well, I guess that's a good thing for me, because I don't ever want to encounter a boy career.

_**Deaths:**_

**Shadow Truly (D1 M 17)**

Killed by himself. He committed suicide after being tortured by nightmares.

**Tyson Harper (D12 M 16)**

Killed by Futro Barnabash. He was crushed by a robotic arm, sent in my Barnabash.

_**Remaining Tributes (4):**_

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

_**Kills:**_

**Shadow: **Lyandel, Cyan, Julian

**Tyson: **Carolina, Erika, Masher

**Masher: **Harris, Herbert, Sunny

**Mary Lay: **Lauren, Larry

**Yvonne: **Flower

**Ray: **Carlisle

**Sunny: **Ray

_**Allies:**_

**Katie**

**Sidney**

**Mary Lay**

**Yvonne**

**I think it's pretty safe to assume that most of you hated Shadow. I have been planning this death scene since the bloodbath. Well, now we've got a new head Gamemaker, Kyleila Fraxy!**

**Well, I love all four of these tributes so much that I can't decide who to kill off next, so I've decided to open my poll back might not fully determine who will win, but it will certainly help me choose who to kill off. If I don't get a few more votes, I might flip a coin to determine who survives. :-)**


	20. Chapter 20: Day Nine

**Day Nine:**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

I wake up, and look at the sky. It looks like the sun rose about an hour ago. This means, I have about twelve hours of nothing to do. I have enough food, thanks to that knife I got at the feast. I have enough water, because I collected a bunch yesterday. I almost want the Gamemakers to cause some sort of natural disaster.

As if the Gamemakers just read my thoughts, I hear a rumble above me. I notice that some dark clouds are forming. The Gamemakers probably decided to throw in a thunderstorm for some fun. I wonder what the thunderstorm will do. Maybe it will shoot out deadly lightning strikes. Maybe it will just make us miserable. Knowing the Gamemakers, there has to be some sort of purpose. I guess I'll have to wait until later to see what the thunderstorm will bring.

A few minutes later, I feel a drop of rain on my arm. A few seconds later, I feel another one, and then another one. The rain picks up pretty quickly, and within about five minutes, I find myself in a full out downpour. Now I know what I'll do today. I'll build a some sort of shelter, or maybe a tree house, to protect myself from the rain.

I climb down my tree, and get to work, finding branches that would work well in my tree house. I use my knives to chop the wood up, and I carry it all up to my tree branch. Now I realize that I need something to hold all the wood together. I search my bag, and find nothing that will attach two pieces of wood together. Maybe I'll just have to lay it on top of some smaller branches above me.

I hear a tinkling sound, and look up to see a parachute falling down towards me. I look inside the basket to find a hammer, a package of nails, and a length of thin rope. This will work brilliantly. I work diligently, nailing and tying pieces of wood together. A few hours later, I have built a nice overhang over me, and on three sides of me, that protects me from 90% of the water. My clothes are soaked, so I lie down, hoping they will dry off soon.

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

I was so overjoyed last night when I saw that boy's face in the sky. It means three important things for me. First of all, Tyson 's death has been avenged, a little. Second, I am one step closer to getting back home to my sister. Third, the cornucopia island is now empty with all of those supplies.

I walk out of the cave, mad that it's raining. I suppose I'll have to get wet anyways, because I'll have to swim to the island, but now I won't dry off as fast. I reach the edge of of the island in a few minutes, and then jump in the water. The water is freezing, but I guess I'll just have to deal with it.

In a few minutes I reach the shore of the cornucopia island. I step on and look around, just in case another tribute is lurking here. When I see no one, I walk into the cornucopia and dig through the bags. Since I only can carry so much, I decide to organize essential supplies into three bags, and I'll take those three bags back with me.

I find many helpful supplies that I haven't seen much of in the arena, such as a bottle of poison, an extra set of clothes, and a heavy winter coat. I stuff these in my bags, with other piles of miscellaneous supplies. In about an hour, I have gone through all the supplies in the cornucopia, and picked out the most important. I walk out of the cornucopia, and hear a splash in the water. I look to my right, to see the girl from District 6 climbing out of the water. I looks like she had the same idea as me.

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

I step on shore, and realize that the island is alredy occupied by the girl from District 7. Well that's just great. I came here for supplies, and it looks like I'm getting a battle in return; me and my ten throwing knives. The girl spots me, and pulls out her bow and sheath of arrows.

The girl shoots an arrow at me, and I duck it. Luckily, she hasn't noticed the pile of expensive looking weapons on the side of the cornucopia. I dodge her next arrow, and run to the pile of weapons. I pick up a giant spear, and press a button on the handle. The tip of the spear turns black, and I know that the tip has been coated with poison.

The girl shoots another arrow, but this time, the arrow becomes engulfed in flames as it whizzes by me. Wow, I never knew arrows could catch on fire like that. I dodge the arrow by stepping to my left, and the arrow shoots into the lake, where the water calms the flames. She shoots another flaming arrow at me, but I know, this time, there is no escaping the flames. I try to duck, but the arrow hits me straight in the chest. My skin burns profusely, but the pain is soon replaced by darkness.

"Boom."

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

A hovercraft comes, and picks up the girl's body. _Twenty-one down, two to go, _I can't help thinking. Now, the only two people standing in my way are the girl from District 3, and the girl from District 10. I can't believe the District 3 girl made it this far. She seemed like quite a weakling during training. I don't really know much about the girl from District 10, except that she only got a six in training. Hopefully, neither of these tribute will stand in my way of getting back to Michelle.

I'm glad that that District 6 girl found those weapons. They must have been the ones that the District 1 boy brought back from the feast. I test out the four weapons, seeing what they can do, and decide to bring one of the swords back with me. So I grab my three bags, my bow, my sheath of arrows, and the sword, and swim back to my island.

When I get back to my cave, I change into the spare pair of clothes I got in the cornucopia. I'm delighted to see that they're about my size. I wring the water out of my own pair of clothes, and spread them out across the cave floor to dry. I decide I've done enough for the day, and fall asleep before the sun even sets.

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

Today, I didn't do much, besides become soaked from the rain. This has been a long thunderstorm. It's been raining the whole day. My bag and food are all soaked now, and so am I. I have basically no protection from the rain here, under this tree, so I have been getting wet all day.

The sun sets, and I try to remember how many days have passed. I've lost track of the amount of time I've been in here. I think it's been somewhere from nine to eleven days, but I'm not positive. I also think I'm in the final three, since the one tribute died today. I wonder who it was. I guess I'll find out any minute now.

Finally, the Panem Anthem plays, and I lay back on my branch to see who died today. The sky reveals the face of the girl from District 6. I didn't really know much about her. I try to think about the other two who are left. I know that the girl from District 7 is still alive, but I'm not sure who else is. Oh well, I'll find out soon enough. I close my eyes and fall asleep.

_**Deaths:**_

**Sidney During (D6 F 17)**

Killed by Mary Lay. She was shot in the chest by a flaming arrow.

**_Remaining Tributes (3):_**

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

_**Kills:**_

**Shadow: **Lyandel, Cyan, Julian

**Mary Lay: **Lauren, Larry, Sidney

**Tyson: **Carolina, Erika, Masher

**Masher: **Harris, Herbert, Sunny

**Yvonne: **Flower

**Ray: **Carlisle

**Sunny: **Ray

_**Allies:**_

**Katie**

**Mary Lay**

**Yvonne**

**Well, judging by the poll results and the reviews, not many people really wanted Sidney to win. So, we're at the final three! Vote in the poll or review to let me know your favorite tribute. You can't vote in polls unless you have an account. If that is the case, just review your favorite tribute's favorite name. I still have no idea who's going to win, so your opinion does help. I can't guarantee that the most voted for tribute will win, but it will certainly help me decide. :-)**

**I'll probably have one or two more chapters to finish up the Games, a chapter for when the tribute is reunited with their family, and a chapter for some statistics and facts about the Games. :-) **


	21. Chapter 21: Day Ten

**Day Ten:**

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

I wake up, and I'm angry to notice that it's still raining. I hoped that it might stop during the night. However, it's still raining really hard. Everything I can see is saturated. I eat my breakfast, which consists of some raspberries and some keeter leaves. I'm starting to run low on food, so I decide to climb down and look for some.

Every step I take, my foot sinks about six inches into the ground. I make my way through the forest, and find myself at the edge of the island. I notice something very odd; the water comes up to almost the trees. The rain must caused the lake to rise. I look out into the lake and notice something else odd; the cornucopia island is gone, except for the tip of the cornucopia's tail.

Now I see what the Gamemakers are doing with this rain. They will flood the arena, and force us to the highest point in the arena, which I believe is the top of the cliff with the waterfall. I stayed there for about the first seven days, and then I moved to this island because I was afraid that the careers would attack me there, because they knew I was there. But now, the careers are all dead. Maybe it would be smarter if I traveled back to that island.

I decide to travel back to the cliff and the waterfall. The Gamemakers will probably force us there anyways, so I might as well go there early. If I get there before the other two tributes, I can find a good spot to hide. That way, when the other two tributes are forced there by flooding, I can avoid being killed.

I jump into the water and swim towards the cliff island. I hate being so wet, so I hope the other tributes hurry up and get to this island, so that the Gamemakers can stop the rain. I step on shore a few minutes later, and start my hike towards the cliff. The island looks pretty unchanged since I was here a few days ago; besides the fact that everything is now soaking wet.

I finally reach the cliff, and start climbing up. This is much harder than when I climbed this cliff on the first day, because the rocks are all slippery with the rain. I make sure to grasp on extra tight to the rocks, because one slip could send me plunging to my death. Finally, I manage to pull myself up onto the top of the cliff. I rest for a few minutes, and then decide to look for a place to rest.

There aren't many places to hide up here, because the land is very bare. Besides a few small trees and bushes, the island doesn't hold lots of vegetation. I search around for a concealed spot, and decide to go with a clump of bushes. I throw my bag inside the bushes, step back, and decide the bushes will work fine because I can't see any part of the bag.

I meant to look for some food on the other island, but I got sidetracked by the flooding. I guess I'll look for some food now. The clump of bushes that I've chosen as a hiding spot doesn't have any berry bushes, it I eventually find a clump of bushes that does. I pick some raspberries and blackberries,and then head back to my spot in the bushes. I eat some berries for my lunch, and then wonder what to do for the rest of the day.

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

I hate all this stupid rain. The floor of my cave is coated in water, which doesn't help dry my clothes that were lying there. It's a good thing I got an extra set of clothes at the cornucopia yesterday, or I don't know what I'd do. My clothes that I'm wearing now are mostly dry, but they do have some wet patches.

I don't really want to leave my cave today. I don't really have a reason to leave,because I have enough supplies, so I guess I'll just spend the day in my half-dry cave. I probably have a dryer camp than the other two tributes, though, so I have to remind myself to feel atleast somewhat happy.

I wonder where the other tributes are camping out today. Knowing the District 3 girl, she has probably found a small, high, and dry spot to camp out in. However, I don't really know where the District 10 girl might be. She could be anywhere, because the only times I saw her were the bloodbath and the feast.

I also wonder what's going to happen over the next few days. Obviously, the Gamemakers aren't just going to let us three sit around while it rains. They surely have something planned for us. When it gets down to about the final three, the Gamemakers usually send in a natural disaster, mutts, or other disasters to force the tributes together to fight. This year, I don't expect anything different than that. It looks like for the next few days, I'll be sitting in this cave, waiting for something to happen.

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

All day today, I spent my time improving my shelter to let in less water. It's not like I've got anything better to do, because I have plenty of food and water. Now, about 99% of the water cannot penetrate my little shelter in the tree. I am very satisfied, because I now have dry clothes and a happy mood.

The sun begins to set and the sky starts to get dark. It's hard to believe that I've been in the arena for nearly ten days. I guess time goes by in a blur when you are away from family and friends. I'd give anything to have them back. I wonder how they are doing back in District 10.

At last the sun disappears beyond the lake, and the Panem Anthem begins to play. Tonight, the sky doesn't reveal the faces of any tributes. I know this will not be the case tomorrow. They will obviously make the three of us fight to the death tomorrow since the action was low today. I hope they don't make us do that and let us just survive it out. But knowing the Gamemakers, they would never do that in a thousand years.

My guess is that the Games will only last one or two more days. If I survive those one or two days, I will get to go home to my family. I can't believe that I made it this far with these Games. I didn't think that I'd get close to winning a Games for second place tributes. Maybe I could go all the way this year. I guess I'll find out in the next day or two. I lie down, close my eyes, and let sleep overcome the droning of the rain.

**_No Deaths_**

**_Remaining Tributes (3):_**

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

_**Kills:**_

**Shadow: **Lyandel, Cyan, Julian

**Masher: **Harris, Herbert, Sunny

**Mary Lay: **Lauren, Larry, Sidney

**Tyson: **Carolina, Erika, Masher

**Yvonne: **Flower

**Ray: **Carlisle

**Sunny: **Ray

_**Allies:**_

**Katie**

**Mary Lay**

**Yvonne**

**Well, a short and slow chapter again, to lead up to the finale! Keep voting in the poll and reviewing. I still haven't decided who will win, so your opinion does matter. The victor might not be the most voted for tribute, but the amount of votes might sway my opinion. Thanks :-)**


	22. Chapter 22: Day Eleven

**Day Eleven:**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

I wake up, and look around. When I look down, I realize that the ground is gone! A closer look, and I realize that the ground has been flooded by the rain. If I were to sleep on the ground, I would have been submerged in water. I have to get off of this island, and reach higher ground.

I jump down from the tree, and land in the water. I become instantly soaked. It's still raining, but I had been sleeping under my shelter, which blocked most of the rain. I swim to where the edge of the island should be. I look out into the lake, and see that most of the islands have shared the same fate as my jungle island did. The only island that looks most unchanged is the one with the cliff. I guess I'll have to head over there.

I swim over to that island, and start scaling the cliff. When I'm about six feet up, I slip and fall back into the water. I'm not hurt, but I'll need to be more careful while I climb the cliff. The water has made this harder than I expected. I start climbing up again, but I'm more careful this time. I make sure to watch my steps, and grip tightly with my hands. Finally, after about ten minutes of climbing, I pull myself up over the edge.

I lie there and rest for a few minutes. Then I decide I have to move, because there could be another tribute up here. I stand up, and look out at the lake. All I can see from most of the islands is the tops of trees. It's a nice view up here. I can see the whole arena. I turn around, and then look for somewhere to camp.

I walk across the top of the cliff, and spot a bush of raspberries. It gives me a good idea. I take out my poison, and pour some of it over the berries. This type of poison doesn't seem to instantly kill the berries, so they still look pretty edible. In another minute, I find some blackberries, and sprinkle some poison over this too. This will kill any tribute who doesn't have a knife like mine, because all the plants on the other islands have been covered my water. I close up the bottle of poison, and place it back in my bed.

I find only one tree up here that looks big enough to hide in. I climb up, and hide myself in the leaves. I don't think anyone can see me from the outside. I peer through the leaves, and try to spot any of the tributes. It doesn't look like any of them have camped on this island yet. I guess I'll just have to wait until they come, and when they do, they will be killed by the now poisonous raspberries and blackberries.

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

I sit up in my bushes. I have slept in this morning, so I am very well rested for today. I open my bag and eat some of my berries. I have eaten a lot in the past day, so I need some more. I stand up, and start walking over to where I know the raspberries and blackberries are. I pick some, and stuff them in my bag.

I then walk over to the edge of the arena, and take a look at the arena. I see that most of the islands have been flooded, just as I thought they would. I take a handful of berries out of my bag, and eat them as the rain pours down at me. I hope this rain stops soon. I hate the feeling of being wet all the time.

I turn around, and start to walk back to my bushes. I start to feel a little bit dizzy. I'm probably dehydrated. I eat some more berries, because they're pretty watery berries. But that only makes me feel worse. I crawl my way over to my bushes. I'll take a nap, and probably feel better when I wake up.

I lay down, still dizzy, but just before I close my eyes I see a blur of movement. I open them back up, and the whole world moves and tilts to one size. I see a girl running towards me, but I can't tell who she is. I can't focus on her because the whole world is shaking. The girl finally reaches me, and holds out a knife or two. I can't tell, because the whole world is shaking. She brings down the knife or knives on me, and the whole world swirls into blackness.

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

I let the rain wash off the blood on my throwing knife. It seems like that poison wasn't powerful at all. Usually, when someone eats a poisonous berry, they die instantly. However the berries were inside that girl for atleast five minutes before she started walking back to her clump of bushes. I think the poison was kind of like tracker jacket venom; a great amount can kill you, but a little amount will just give you dizziness and hallucinations. I've heard of poisons like that.

I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't killed that girl with my knife. Would she have survived if I hadn't cut her up with my knife? Well, it doesn't matter anymore, because she's dead. A cannon blast sounds in the distance, and I hear the purr of a hovercraft coming over here. The hovercraft sucks up the girl's body, and then zooms away.

The realization of what I've done finally hits me. I've killed an innocent little girl. However, this also means I'm in the final two again, for my second time in the Hunger Games. But this time, will I make it to victory? I guess that all depends on who's out there, waiting for me. I have to kill them to win these Games. Hopefully, that person will come out fast, because I am very anxious to see if I get a ticket back home.

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

I wonder who that cannon was for. It could have been either the girl from District 3, or the girl from District 10. It was probably the District 3 girl because she's the weakest, but I hope it was the District 10 girl because she's the biggest threat towards me. Regardless, I'm now in the final two, and one death away from victory.

Right now, I'm sitting on top of the big rock on my island. I had to evacuate up here early in the morning because too much water was seeping into my cave. I'm planning on moving to the island with the cliff after nightfall, because it has the highest elevation out of any of the islands. Judging by how fast the rain has been falling, I only have a few more hours on this gigantic boulder until it is completely submerged.

A few hours later, the Panem Anthem begins to play. I find myself staring up at the girl from District 3. Darn it, I was hoping the other girl would die. Oh well, it's still one tribute down, and one more to go. The Anthem ends, and the sky turns black. Now, it's time for me to move.

I dive into the water and start swimming towards the cliff island. I take my time, because I know the other tribute is probably asleep or falling asleep. I reach the island in a few minutes, and cling on to the cliff side. I climb up the cliff in great difficulty. If only the cliff was less wet. The rain has caused it to make my fingers and toes slide all over. My body also hasn't fully recovered from the robotic arm. I finally pull myself up, and stand up on the top of the cliff. That is when I see her, the girl from District 10, standing a few feet away from me. "Hello," she says. "Ready for a battle?"

_**Deaths:**_

**Katie Joel (D3 F 13)**

Killed by Yvonne. She ate poisonous berries, and then was stabbed in the neck by a knife.

_**Remaining Tributes (2):**_

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

_**Kills:**_

**Shadow: **Lyandel, Cyan, Julian

**Masher: **Harris, Herbert, Sunny

**Mary Lay: **Lauren, Larry, Sidney

**Tyson: **Carolina, Erika, Masher

**Yvonne: **Flower, Katie

**Sunny: **Ray

**Ray:** Carlisle

_**Allies:**_

**Mary Lay**

**Yvonne**

**Oooh, a cliffhanger! Sorry about that. I'm also sorry for killing off Katie. Many people liked her, but she was just not strong enough to win the Games. She was a great girl, and she did well to make it to the final three because of her age and size. :-)**

**Once again, I need help to decide who to kill off. I seriously like both of these characters, but the rules state that only one tribute can win! Please review or vote in my poll to tell me your favorite tribute. It does help me decide. Believe it or not, ****I let Katie survive because this long because she had lots of support, but I knew she wasn't up to winning. Thanks :-)**


	23. Chapter 23: The Finale

**The Finale (Day Eleven):**

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

This will be it; the end of the 250th Hunger Games. Only one of us will walk out of this battle. The question is, who will it be? She might be a little better at weapons, but she has just scaled the cliff, so she's probably really tired. As also seems to have many injuries. I don't think either of us really know who's going to win this.

I wonder which of us has more sponsors. I know she has a younger sister, so she probably has a lot of sympathetic sponsors. She is also fresh in their minds, being from the 249th Hunger Games. I, however, hope I have won over sponsors with my quick wits and intelligence. I also have a twin sister, but she isn't young, like that girl's.

The girl pulls out an expensive looking set of bow and arrows. That must be what she got at the feast. I have already pulled out my two regular throwing knives and my throwing knife that shoots out the food. It looks like she has a better supply of weapons. I see a two swords sticking out of one of her bags. Maybe I can try to sneak behind her and steal one of them.

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

The girl from District 10 faces me, a menacing look on her face. She holds three throwing knives in her hand. One of the knives looks like the one Tyson and I got at the feast; the one that shoots out food. This girl doesn't look very well armed. I, on the other hand, have my special set of bow and arrows, a regular set of bow and arrows, two swords, and ten throwing knives.

I think I can win this battle. I might be a bit more tired and hurt than that girl is, but I'm definately stronger, better armed, and fitter than she is. I think those throwing knives are all she has. They won't match well against my bow and arrows. I can send flaming and explosive weapons towards her, and all she can do is chuck some knives at me.

We have been standing here for a few seconds, neither of us seeming to want to make the first move. I guess I'd start the battle. I reach into my sheath of arrows, and grab a fire arrow. I don't grab a regular one, because that's less affective than a flaming one, and I don't grab an explosive one because I don't want to blow up the whole island. I don't know how strong the explosive ones are. I load my bow with the fiery arrow, and let it fly.

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

I duck the arrow the girl shoots out me. As it whizzes past my ear, I feel its heat. I don't want to get hit with one of those. It would burn a hole right through me. She picks up another flaming arrow, and shoots it at me. I dodge this one by stepping to the left. It whizzes by me, and sticks in a tree. The tree starts to burn, but the fire is easily put out by the rain.

I realize I can't just let her shoot arrows at me forever. I need to fight back. I need to steal one of her weapons. I decide I will attempt to grab one of the swords sticking out of her bag. I dodge a third arrow she shoots at me, and I charge at her. Surprised, she steps back and turns slightly. I manage to grab one of the swords, but as I step back, one of her arrows gets me in the back of my left arm. It seems like this one is just a regular arrow. Maybe she's all out if the flaming arrows.

It's a good thing I'm a righty, because I can barely move my left arm. Before I fight back, I know I have to pull this arrow out of my arm. I take a deep breath, and then yank it out. It hurts like heck, but I know I had to do that. It's a good thing that arrow didn't go all the way through my arm, or I think it would hurt a lot more.

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

Although the girl has stolen a sword, she now can't use her left arm. I hope she's not too skilled with swords, or I might be in trouble. She starts brandishing the sword at me, and I know I can't fight a sword with a bow and arrows. I put the bow in my left hand, and grab the sword out of my bag. I'm not super skilled with a sword, but I think I still may be able to beat this girl.

It turns out she is much more skilled than I thought. I think I might still be able to beat her though. She brandishes the sword; up, down, right, left, and everywhere. However, I block each of her blows with my sword. Finally, she makes contact with me. She manages to slice my left cheek. I wipe off the blood, and continue to fight.

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

It looks like this girl is not as skilled as sword fighting as she is with a bow and arrow. She can block most of my blows, but she does nothing to attack me. I believe I can win this battle, if I can keep her from not attacking me. I have already hit her on the cheek, but I know I need to hit her a few more times if I want to kill her.

She continues blocking my blows, so I know I need to fake her out somehow. I take a small jab at her face, she goes to block it, and then I aim for her stomach. I miss, but I skim her left arm with my sword. It looks like this battle will go on for a while. We are both good sword fighters, but only one of us can live.

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

This girl is slowly defeating me with her sword. I need to try something else, or she will kill me this way. As I deflect her blows, I wonder what I can do to defeat her. Obviously, I can't beat her with sword fighting, so I have to try something else. I think and think, and hatch a plan that brings a smile to my face.

She brandashes the sword at me again, so I deflect it and then put my plan into action. I dash to the edge of the cliff, and the girl follows after me. I pull out my bow and sheath of arrows. This time, I pull out an explosive arrow. I place my heels over the edge of the cliff, load my bow, shoot the arrow at the girl, and jump backwards off the cliff.

I plunge down towards the water. I hope I will survive this fall. Right as I hit the water, I hear the explosion. I land in the lake, and examine myself under the water. I'm still alive! I don't look badly hurt from my fall. I can hear the explosion from under the water, but it's a muffled sound. I hope it worked. I hope the girl is dead. Well, the only way to find out is to rise my head above the water. I swim up, and gasp air down my lungs. Debris is flying everywhere, and the cliff island has been obliterated.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the victor of the tenth Quarter Quell, Mary Lay Sowell of District Seven!"

_**Deaths:**_

**Yvonne Starr (D10 F 18)**

Killed by Mary Lay. She was killed by an explosion set off by Mary Lay's arrow.

_**Victor:**_

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

_**Kills:**_

**Mary Lay: **Lauren, Larry, Sidney, Yvonne

**Shadow: **Lyandel, Cyan, Julian

**Masher: **Harris, Herbert, Sunny

**Tyson: **Carolina, Erika, Masher

**Yvonne: **Flower, Katie

**Sunny: **Ray

**Ray: **Carlisle

**Well congrats to Mary Lay for winning the Games! I liked Yvonne too, but I think Mary Lay was better in battle. I wish both of them could win, but Mary Lay had more votes in the poll, so yeah. Well, in the next chapter, Mary Lay will be reunited with her sister. Then, I'll have one more for some facts and statistics about the Games. Yay! :-)**


	24. Chapter 24: Reunited

**Mary Lay Sowell (D7 F 18)**

A hovercraft appears, and I am pulled into it. Then the realization sinks in; I am going home! I am going to see Michelle again! She will not have to grow up in the community home! Once I am pulled into the hovercraft, I am brought to a hospital room. They help me lay down, and then give me sleep syrup so that they can tend to all my wounds.

When I wake up, my body is free of most scars and wounds that I accumulated during the Games. My stylist comes in, and congratulates me. He instructs me on what will happen. I will not be able to go home for nearly a week. I'm sad I won't be able to see Michelle for a while. I tell this to my stylist, and he smiles, and tells me to wait right here. He walks out of the room, and walks back in after a few minutes. But he's not alone this time.

"Michelle!" I scream.

"Mary Lay!" Michelle screams. "You've won! You've won!" She runs up to me, and hugs me tight. I hug her back. I will never let go; ever. Michelle cries into my shoulder. "I'm so happy!" she says.

"Me too!" I say. "Now we can live happily together!"

A woman from the community home, back in District 12, walks into the room with a stack of papers. "Mary Lay," she says. "Would you like to be Michelle's legal guardian?"

"Yes!" I say. "Of course I would!"

"Wonderful," she says. She hands me the stack of papers, and shows me where to sign. I sign my name in in about fifty different places, and then give the stack back to the woman. "Thank you," she says. She stamps the Panem Seal on it. "You are now her legal guardian."

Over the next few hours, Michelle sits next to me as we talk. We talk about everything; the Hunger Games, the community home, District 7, Michelle's friends, the Capitol, and much more. We also hug each other a lot. This time, I tell myself, I will never let go.

The rest of the week goes by in a blur. All my wounds and scars disappear, and my stylist and prep team make me look like myself again. Then comes the final interview, where I see a three-hour recap of the Games. I find it weird that they omit the deaths of a few people. The announcer just says that they died because of a giant squid, but the cameras malfunctioned. I also learned that the Head Gamemaker changed about three-quarters of the way through the Games. They don't say why the Head Gamemaker changed, so I guess he did something the president didn't like.

The day after that, it's time for me to go back home to District 7. Michelle, who has stayed in the Capitol with me, rides in the train with me, as we take the long ride back home. At the District 7 train station, I am greeted with tons of applause. Michelle and I are assigned to a house in Victor's Village, where we will only have three neighbors. It might be a rich life, but I don't know if it will be a happy one. But, at least we have each other, which will be enough happiness for me.

**I hope you enjoyed! I decided a short chapter would be sufficient, and I don't really want to go into detail about everything that happens, because it would probably be really boring. So, the next chapter will just be some statistics and facts about the Games. Thanks :-)**


	25. Chapter 25: Statistics and Facts

**_Statistics and_ _Facts fo__r the_ _250th_ _Hunger_ _Games:_**

**_Victor Facts:_**

**Victor:** Mary Lay Sowell

**District: **7

**Age: **18

**Allies: **Tyson and Sunny

**Kills: **(4) Lauren, Larry, Sidney, Yvonne

**Preferred Weapon: **Bow and arrow

**Height: **5'10

**Weight: **155 pounds

**_Games Facts:_**

**Year:** 250

**Head Gamemaker(s): **Futro Barnabash and Kyleila Fraxy

**Arena Name: **Lake Islands

**Length: **11 Days

**Most Kills: **Mary Lay (4)

**Youngest Tribute: **Katie (13yrs)

**Oldest Tributes: **Masher, Jackie, Herbert, Mary Lay, Flower, Yvonne, Harris, Carlisle (18yrs)

**Average Age: **16.7

**_Author's Favorites:_**

**Female Tribute: **Yvonne Starr

**Male Tribute: **Tyson Harper

**Tribute: **Yvonne Starr

**Least Favorite Tribute: **Shadow Truly

**Tribute's Name: **Phenomena York

**Island: **Cliff with the Waterfall

**Group of Allies: **Sunny/Mary Lay/ Tyson

**So, there you go. Those last ones are just some of my faves about this Hunger Games. I am so happy to have finished this fanfic! I give thanks to everyone who stuck to my story until the very end. I also thank everyone who reviewed and voted in the poll. It really helped a lot. I'm so happy to finally turn the 'In Progress' button to 'Complete'! :-)**

**So if you guys are wondering, I'm thinking of starting another Hunger Games fanfic sometime in the next few days; maybe even today if I'm bored. ****Please stay tuned for a new story soon! Thanks :-)**


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